I can't wait to hug EVERYONE!'

Ex-Corrie star Katherine Kelly reveals why she’s so grateful to have been busy throughout the pandemic

- HAYLEY MINN

Many people have spent the past year learning new skills and taking on new hobbies, but Katherine Kelly has insisted she’s not one of them – as she simply hasn’t had time.

The 41-year-old actor has been at home with her daughters, Orla, six, and Rose, four, and tells us, ‘I had no time to do anything like that. I became teacher/ dinner lady/cleaner, so it was very, very busy!’

Unlike many of her peers, Katherine has been working continuously throughout the pandemic, and the upcoming second series of her ITV drama, Innocent, was ‘one of the first TV shows out of the starting blocks,’ Katherine explains. She has also been filming a second series of Gentleman Jack since November, and she feels very grateful, especially when she compares herself to others who’ve had it a lot harder.

‘I’ve been very fortunate to be allowed to work,’ she remarks. ‘I’ve had my kids at home and those challenges of homeschooling them, plus loved ones that have been ill in hospital, but one of my brothers is a doctor for the NHS, and you listen to his stories and it’s so different.

‘I’ve just done my best to keep my chin up and get on with it.’