Coronation Street role is dream come true for Wigan actor Kel Allen

Kel Allen has only been walking on the famous cobbles of the ITV soap for a few months, but she is definitely making her mark.

As a life-long fan of “Corrie” she was delighted to land the role of Laura Neelan and jump straight into a key storyline involving her missing husband, who viewers know has actually been killed.

It is a dream come true for the former Winstanley College student, who says she cried when she got the part.

Kel said: “Landing that regular role on Coronation Street, it’s like landing a golden ticket in that chocolate bar from Willy Wonka.”

She auditioned just before Christmas and changed plans to travel to Bali in the New Year.

Kel said: “I was ringing my agent that week to say I was going to book a few months out and go off travelling. She has always known that Coronation Street is the ultimate for me. If Corrie comes in, everything gets dropped.”

The first person she called after getting the part was her mum, who began proudly telling everyone she met that she would be joining the long-running soap.

Kel remembers watching Coronation Street with her family as a child, dashing downstairs to the television when the theme tune began.

Now she stars as Laura Neelan, who has come to the street after the disappearance of her husband Rick to care for their daughter.

She describes Laura as “feisty”, with a “seedy” background and admits she would never “win any mum of the year awards”.

“The way that she was explained to me was she doesn’t mince her words and doesn’t suffer fools gladly. I feel she has no inner monologue,” she said.

She has already filmed scenes in the Rovers Return and Roy’s Rolls with key characters, including Adam Barlow and Gary Windass.

There could be plenty to come from Laura as the explosive storyline continues.

It is not the first time Kel has appeared in Coronation Street - in 2018 she played Lulu Lockett, the owner of a strip club where Bethany Platt worked.

She said it was the “best news in the world” to be asked to return.

Kel has always enjoyed performing and did her own shows based on Coronation Street for her family as a child.

A careers advisor at high school told her acting was “not a career” but that spurred her on.

She attended Willpower Youth Theatre and Winstanley College alongside Georgia Taylor, who now plays Toyah Battersby. The pair have caught up on set.

Kel now runs Stellar School of Acting, based at The Deanery High School, to help youngsters hoping to follow in her footsteps.

She also runs acting workshops for adults to help them get into the industry.

Her focus is very much on Coronation Street and she is now getting used to being recognised.

She was treated at Wigan Infirmary on Saturday after breaking her toe in four places and was recognised by a nurse, even while wearing a face mask.

Kel said: “One of the nurses asked if I had broken my toe coming out of the Rovers. Scenes had gone out on the Friday night where I was drinking in the pub with Adam. She was a big fan and thought I had come out of the Rovers and gone over on the cobbles!”

A message from the Editorial Director, Gillian Parkinson:

Thank you for reading this story on our website.

But I also have an urgent plea to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality local news on this free-to-read site and in print, please purchase a copy of our newspaper as well.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on our town centres and many of our valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you buying a copy when you pop out for your essential shop or subscribing for delivery.

Our journalists are highly trained by the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards anywhere in the world. Our content is universally trusted - as all independent research proves.

As Baroness Barran said in a House of Lords debate this week on the importance of journalists: "Not only are they a trusted source of facts, but they will have a role to play in rallying communities and getting the message across about how we can keep ourselves and our families safe, and protect our NHS. Undoubtedly, they have a critical role."

But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis. In return we will continue to forensically cover the local news - not only the impact of the virus but all the positive and uplifting news happening in these dark days.

We thank all our readers and advertisers for their understanding and support - and we wish YOU all the best in the coming weeks. Keep safe, and follow the Government advice. Thank you.

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE:

You can subscribe for delivery by contacting us at [email protected] or calling us on 0330 4033004 for details of a participating newsagent near you.