Latest news with #Farrel
Daily Mirror
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Coronation Street's Farrel Hegarty left in floods of tears at airport over huge fear
Coronation Street actress Farrel Hegarty revealed her secret fear of flying whilst preparing to board a flight home to the UK after a trip to Australia. A Coronation Street star was left in tears at an airport as she revealed her secret fear of flying. Farrel Hegarty, 37, started playing the role of Lou Michaelis on ITV's flagship soap earlier this year, but jetted off to Australia when it was announced that she was to depart the show after just a matter of months. The actress has been keeping her followers on social media up to date with her trip down under to see friends, but appeared distressed as she geared up to board her long flight home. Speaking to her followers on her Instagram story, she said: "I hate saying goodbye, I hate airports and I hate flying. It's a three for three. I don't know what's wrong with me. I used to be fine flying, and now I am an absolute wiener. I can't do it! Turbulence makes me feel like I'm on the Nemesis [at Alton Towers]. "I'm gonna get an ice cream, I don't even care, I don't even care. I'm on a four-week shred before Ibiza. I will worry about the consequences later because I am sad!" Once she had obtained her sweet treat, Farrel said through tears: "I am eating my emotions", before letting out a quick giggle. Farrel's woes didn't end there as she made her way to the plane, and she lamented that she "didn't even get a free upgrade", but she was thrilled to discover that she had the whole row to herself once she had taken her seat on the aircraft. She joked: "Look. Two spare seats. Not one, but two. Someone is looking out for me, someone is looking out for me. Someone is looking out for me. It does smell a little bit like sick, it smells a little sick but I am just going to ignore it!" When the Corrie audition came, she was about to leave her home in London to move Down Under and live with her girlfriend of 18 months. She said: 'I was about to move to Australia to move in with my partner and the audition came up. Either way, my life was about to go in a different direction, as I knew I'd either be going to Australia or joining Coronation Street. 'I knew if I got the role, then it was my time. Having a long-distance relationship is definitely not for the faint-hearted but my partner was never going to be angry that I was going to be in Corrie. She knows how much it meant to me and how tough it has been.' But after just mere months of starring as the hairdresser on-screen - who is now behind bars for beating Gary Windass (Mikey North) over the head amid a failed blackmail attempt - she vaguely discussed the exit for the first time to The Mirror and other press. She teased what was ahead, while also confirming the fact that she did know from the start she would be leaving after a matter of months, with an exit always on the cards despite some reports. She explained of why she took on the short-term role, knowing she would only be there for a specific amount of time: "I just think she really appealed to me because she's the sort of person who's never had it easy. "She's built up a lot of coping mechanisms, where she's presenting a hard and feisty character with her walls up, and all she's ever known is these fiery relationships. And probably fiery relationships with a lot of people in her life, which is what makes a character like that so interesting. "Because she's a force and irrational. I read scripts and I go, 'Oh God! What's she doing now? What's she saying now?' Because it's not a way that I would behave, and because of that, it's so much fun to play. It's that desperation to protect that inner circle and because of that, she makes a mess of things. But a character like that is so fun to play, because there's never a dull moment." Between roles, she has sometimes taken temporary office jobs. 'It's hard going to auditions, but when you get a part like Lou, it's an incredible feeling.' She then admitted that her dream was now to land a role in a sitcom. Speaking before her trip Down Under, Farrel, who also posts comedy sketches on TikTok, said: 'I enjoy doing silly skits. I will need a holiday by then. It will be great to see my partner too.'
The Irish Sun
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Coronation Street star confirms exit as she jets off to Australia after revealing plans to emigrate
A CORONATION Street star has confirmed her soap exit as she jets off to Australia. The soap personality was working as a jobbing actress before she landed her role on the long-running ITV show. 5 Coronation Street's Farrel Hegarty has confirmed her exit Credit: Instagram 5 She has jetted off to Australia Credit: Instagram 5 Farrel shared the moment she and her partner reunited Credit: Instagram Farrel Hegarty began playing Corrie's troublesome Lou Michaelis earlier this year. Taking to Instagram, the actress revealed she has joined partner in Australia. Farrel posted snaps from the journey on her story- as well as when she and her partner were reunited. The star had previously admitted that . Read more on Corrie She also revealed having originally intended to move to Australia -before landing the role in Coronation Street. Lou arrived Addressing her upcoming exit, Farrel previously told "How we do it, I can't say, but it's brilliant being part of the show. Most read in Soaps "Watching the other actors is like a masterclass in acting. When I do film my final scenes, I'll probably cry." Ahead of their debut, Lou and Mick had been billed as the Coronation Street signs TikTok & Casualty stars as 'nightmare neighbours' set to 'make life hell' for Cobbles residents Speaking at the time of her casting, Farrel said: 'I'm delighted and so grateful to be joining the cast of Coronation Street. "I have genuinely been blown away by how ridiculously warm and nice everyone is. 'Lou is definitely an exciting character to play because she's got good and bad parts to her, she's a life force and full of beans. "She's a very colourful person who likes to make waves and try to cause chaos. "But she also has that strong family loyalty, especially between Mick and Lou, they are thick as thieves and will stick up for each other, even when they probably shouldn't…' Since arriving, the Michaelis clan haven't been too popular in Weatherfield. Namely, due to Mick History of the Coronation Street set By Jake Penkethman, TV Reporter 1960-1968 - Whilst the Coronation Street set remained on Quay Street for 53 years, it actually had three separate studio sites. The first was an entirely indoor wooden set which was used for the first eight years of filming. This encompassed a replica of the Street built entirely indoors. The set was known to be awkward for actors to use and the houses brought to three quarter scale. 1968-1982 - In 1968, the addition of an outdoor set was created to adjoin the existing indoor set which was still used for filming right up until 1982. The set was used only when required with many of the show's cast reportedly hating it and describing it as 'the coldest place on Earth'. 1982-2013 - A brand new set was officially constructed in 1982 and was almost built fully to scale but still only permitted for one car to drive down the cobbled street. The house were purpose-built using reclaimed Salford brick in order to give it the most authentic feel possible. During these years, some of the show's buildings were adapted to allow for both interior and exterior filming at the same time. These locations included Elliott's Butchers, Barlow's Buys, Prima Doner and Webster's Autos. The final scenes to be recorded on this site occurred in December 2013. By early 2014, it began operating as a tourist attraction for around two years before ultimately being demolished and re-purposed in 2017. 2014-present - In early 2014, the show's set moved to the TV hub of the North - MediaCityUK in nearby Salford Quays. It is now located a stone's throw from major TV studio Dock 10 as well as the BBC's base in the North - home to Blue Peter, Newsround, BBC Breakfast and BBC Sport. The new set was even bigger and built to 9/10 the scale of a real street and allowed for two card to be travelling down the road at opposite sides for the very first time. The site has even undergone major expansions during its 10 years. Just four years after opening in 2018, a brand new set extension was unveiled which introduced viewers to Victoria Gardens for the first time in its history. The Weatherfield North tram stop also became visible as did a series of shops which became used as part of product placement advertising deals. Brands to have been seen on the Street so far include a Co-Op, a Costa Coffee and a branch of Hay's Travel. Four years later in 2022, another brand new set was unveiled, this time being the heavily mentioned Weatherfield Precinct. It became the first time in 62 years that the area had ever been seen on screens. It fearued a variety of shop fronts, a playground and a number of small flats which have begun to house more and more residents on the street in recent months. Viewers also learned about the complicated past between the couple and police detective Kit Green. Lou and Kit had a secret fling years ago - But just how will Mick and Lou's exit from the cobbles play out? Coronation Street airs on ITV1 and ITVX. 5 The star shared snaps from throughout her journey Credit: Instagram 5 Mick and Loi arrived on the cobbles earlier this year Credit: ITV
Daily Mirror
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Coronation Street's Farrel Hegarty certain how Lou Michaelis will leave show
EXCLUSIVE: Coronation Street actress Farrel Hegarty has opened up about her storyline on the ITV soap opera and admits she hopes it enables women to speak up Poised to emigrate to Australia before she landed her Corrie role as neighbour-from-hell Lou Michaelis, actress Farrel Hegarty is already being likened to hellraising battleaxe Janice Battersby. Flattered by the comparison, there is no such thing as being too gobby, according to Yorkshire-born Farrel. She tells The Mirror: 'Lou is gobby, loud, irrational and it's lovely to be compared to such a big character, like Janice Battersby. You always dream of landing a part like Lou. So to get it later in life, is overwhelming and I cried. I was so happy.' At 37, Farrel will not be considered to be 'later in life' by many of us, but age is an issue in the acting profession. 'Working as a jobbing actress can be hard,' explains Farrel. 'There were 50 people in my year at drama school 15 years ago and when we recently counted how many were still acting, it was only seven.' When the Corrie audition came, she was about to leave her home in London to move Down Under and live with her girlfriend of 18 months. She says: 'I was about to move to Australia to move in with my partner and the audition came up. Either way, my life was about to go in a different direction, as I knew I'd either be going to Australia or joining Coronation Street. 'I knew if I got the role, then it was my time. Having a long-distance relationship is definitely not for the faint-hearted but my partner was never going to be angry that I was going to be in Corrie. She knows how much it meant to me and how tough it has been.' The moment Lou, her husband Mick Michaelis (Joe Layton) and their son Brody (Ryan Mulvey) arrived on the cobbles, they began wreaking havoc. For Chesney and Gemma, they have become nightmare neighbours, while thug Mick has bullied Leo, battered his stepdad Gary and is tormenting bent copper Kit with threats to reveal his bad boy past, when they were both delinquent teenagers. And Farrel is at pains to point out that, while she loves playing her, she is nothing like Lou in real life. She says: 'Lou loves an insult. She's called people a cow, bimbo and witch and sometimes I find myself going 'take a minute, Lou' when I read the scripts. "I am obviously nothing like her and the only thing we do have in common, other than being close to family, is we have the same face!' So far, despite Mick's thuggery, there has been no indication of any aggression towards Lou. But in tonight's episode, it will be revealed that he has been abusing her physically and mentally. Bombshell revelations in Friday's episode lifted the lid on Lou and Kit's affair years earlier, which cast doubt on whether the policeman or Mick was Brody's dad. And when Brody is caught shoplifting, enraged Mick makes his feelings clear with viewers seeing Lou taken to A&E with a head wound by Tim Metcalfe (Joe Duttine) . There is no doubt who caused it, yet Lou is besotted with Mick. 'She is so infatuated and in love with Mick that she is willing to overlook things,' explains Farrel. 'She loves him so much that when he is being scary, she soon forgets it when he tells her an hour later how sorry he is and how much he loves her. The fear disappears.' Farrel says the hard-hitting storyline is an important one: 'We want women in horrendous situations like this to realise they aren't alone and to also show it's not always (happening to) the person you might expect. 'Yes Lou is loud and gobby and you wouldn't expect this to happen to her, but there is a vulnerable side to her too. Mick is all she has ever known and her love for him will always outdo everything.' Farrel won't divulge whether Lou will leave Mick, but she says her relationship with Brody becomes strained, now he has found Kit may be his real dad. 'Lou sees the best in Brody, but he's turning into Mick,' she reveals. 'But, to be fair, Brody has had a hard life and to discover his life may have been a lie is bound to test a relationship.' Farrel says Joe is a joy to work with: 'He is the opposite of Mick, such a lovely human and the most caring man. ' Knowing the destruction unleashed on Weatherfield by the Michaelises would be short-lived, as their Coronation Street contracts were finite, Lou plans to make the most of every second. Due to depart in the summer, she says: 'I've loved it all and even now, a few months in, it's surreal walking on the cobbles. So much has happened in such a short time, and we've caused chaos. I've never had so many arguments! 'To get this role is a dream come true, but I always knew I would one day be leaving. Joe and I came in together and will leave together. How we do it, I can't say, but it's brilliant being part of the show. Watching the other actors is like a masterclass in acting. When I do film my final scenes, I'll probably cry.' After leaving East 15 acting school in Essex 15 years ago, Farrel has had small roles in Brassic and Johnny Vegas' Murder They Hope, as well as creating comedy content on TikTok and appearing in Corrie in 2019, as a reporter looking into Robert Preston's shooting. Between roles, she has sometimes taken temporary office jobs. 'It's hard going to auditions, but when you get a part like Lou, it's an incredible feeling.' Her dream now is to land a role in a sitcom. 'I enjoy doing silly skits,' says Farrel, who plans to go to Australia first. 'I will need a holiday by then. It will be great to see my partner too.' If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Abuse Helpline 24/7 on 0808 2000247. Coronation Street airs every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 8pm on ITV1. Also on ITVX.
Daily Mirror
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Coronation Street's Lou had very different appearance on ITV soap six years ago
Coronation Street's Lou Michaelis actress Farrel Hegarty has spilled all on a past stint she had on the show six years ago before she landed her latest soap role Fans of Coronation Street may be surprised to know that Lou Michaelis actress Farrel Hegarty had actually been on the ITV soap before her latest role. The actress has opened up on her looming exit from the cobbles, teasing what's ahead for the character. But she also revealed all about another character she played on the ITV soap around five or six years ago that fans may have forgotten about. Lou is not the soap star's first soap role, and it certainly wasn't her first Cobbles visit. Back in 2019, Farrel played another character, a guest role, on the ITV soap. Her character was a reporter who headed to the street in the wake of the Christmas shooting. With the siege leaving Robert Preston and the gunman dead and Shona Platt fighting for her life, residents were in turmoil. The reporter, played by Farrel, headed to the cobbles with a camera crew to report outside The Rovers where Robert died. She ambushed his grieving partner Michelle Connor and her sons Ryan and Ali, wanting the scoop on the fatal incident of the night before. Speaking of the role, Farrel told The Mirror and other press: "I played a reporter in 2019. Which I think someone dug up an image. I saw something that popped up and I thought: 'Oh, there I am!' It was in the Boxing Day episode of 2019. I think it was just 'reporter 1'!" But Farrel revealed she also graced the famous cobbled street before this too, when she was just five years old. Revealing she met Corrie legend Barbara Knox who plays Rita, she said: "I got a picture of me and her when I was like five, when I came to the Corrie tour." Farrel will soon bow out as Lou, while she knew from the start her time on the cobbles would once again be limited. She detailed on why she took on the short-term role: "I just think she really appealed to me because she's the sort of person who's never had it easy. "She's built up a lot of coping mechanisms, where she's presenting a hard and feisty character with her walls up, and all she's ever known is these fiery relationships. And probably fiery relationships with a lot of people in her life, which is what makes a character like that so interesting. "Because she's a force and irrational. I read scripts and I go: 'Oh God! What's she doing now? What's she saying now?' Because it's not a way that I would behave, and because of that, it's so much fun to play. It's that desperation to protect that inner circle and because of that, she makes a mess of things. But a character like that is so fun to play, because there's never a dull moment." On playing Lou, she went on: "It's great to play that character. I'm so lucky to play a role like this. To be honest, I tend not to get cast as shrinking violets if I'm honest! I must have one of those faces! But she's brilliant to play. "Some of her behaviour really makes me wince sometimes because I think she can be quite hot-headed, irrational and she speaks before she thinks and she protects her own, which gets her into trouble. "She does have a massive heart for the people she loves and she has good qualities in that. But I think, to a lot of people it's loud, feisty and quite unreasonable at times."
Metro
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Coronation Street star confirms devastation will 'implode' in major twist
Coronation Street star Farrel Hegarty has hinted 'a few skeletons in the closet' are set to come out in the coming weeks. Introduced in February 2025, Farrel's character, Lou and Mick (Joe Layton) are the newest additions to Mawdsley Street. The couple hit the street with a mixture of charm and chaos, but have since been billed as 'nightmare neighbours', with Mick especially already making more enemies than friends in Weatherfield. A flashback episode, which will air on Friday, 16th May, will delve into the mysterious past of police officer Kit Green (Jacob Roberts) and his ties to the conniving couple. Set in 2007, we will get a glimpse of the trio's teenage years, promising viewers more understanding of 'why the characters are the way they are'. Ahead of this special flashback, Farrel shared her excitement for the episode, 'I think it's rare we get to look back and see what makes someone the way they are today and what they've been through and what's happened in the past. All that's going to come out, which is going to be really exciting to watch.' The actress reflected on meeting the three newcomers cast as young Lou, Mick and Kit; 'at one point, it was the three of us and the three of them!' 'The casting was really good.' Are you looking forward to the flashback episode? Yes - I can't wait to find out more 'I took it as a compliment ́(when they said) have you seen the younger you?' Farrel said after seeing her 'younger self', 'She's going to make a fantastic young Lou. She got such good feedback, I'm really excited to see how that plays out.' She admitted when talking about her feisty character: 'I wouldn't want to be best mates with her. She's not a girl-next-door vibe.' 'She's the sort of person who puts her family first, and unfortunately, that's the type of character who's going to burn bridges along the way.' She hopes Lou's good nature also translates on screen in the coming weeks. 'She does have a massive heart for the people she loves, and she has good qualities.' But the star is not oblivious to the fact that Lou has not received the warmest of welcomes from fans of the show: 'Some of her behaviour really makes me wince sometimes because I think she can be quite hot-headed, irrational, and she speaks before she thinks, and she protects her own, which gets her into trouble.' To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video She added, 'I tend not to get cast as shrinking violets, if I'm honest! I must have one of those faces! But she's brilliant to play.' 'I read scripts and I go 'Oh God! What's she doing now? What's she saying now?' It's that desperation to protect her inner circle, and because of that, she makes a mess of things. But a character like that is so fun to play, because there's never a dull moment.' Farrel shared that this is just the beginning of the devastation set to come Mick and Lou's way. ' There's a lot more to come from these two, I'm afraid to say, I think there's a lot happening. It's all about to come to a head, it's all about to implode.' More Trending 'We're going to see a lot of her finding it hard to keep afloat and pick up a lot of pieces, and she's torn between head and heart. ' The couple who were only set to be here for a good time, not a long time, are to exit the show come summer. A Coronation Street spokesperson told Metro: 'This is not a shock exit or an early exit. Mick and Lou were brought into the show to cause chaos on the cobbles in the build-up to a major storyline in the summer, and they are already making their presence felt. View More » Joe and Farrell were contracted for a specific length of time, some characters come in for a long time, and some, like Mick and Lou, are brought to pass through and leave a trail of destruction behind them.' MORE: Missing Coronation Street local brutally attacked by thug Mick MORE: Coronation Street 'confirms' Lauren's blackmailer in new spoiler videos as tragic death looms MORE: Kit's dark past haunts him in Coronation Street as he is cornered by violent villain
