'It's Going To Be Expolosive'

Rising star Julia Goulding on stirring things up on the cobbles – and why fan favourite Shona is cut from familiar cloth...

- Alison Slade

Many an actor has harboured ambitions of starring on Coronation Street, but Julia Goulding has dreamt of walking down those iconic cobbles since she could barely write her name. She was such a big fan of the soap as a child that she even had her fifth birthday party at the Granada Studios Tour in Manchester.

‘There were lots of sets that the public could visit, like Baker Street and the House of Commons – and you could walk down Coronation Street on the days they weren’t filming,’ says Julia, who grew up in Middleton, Greater Manchester. ‘I remember I was fuming, because I couldn’t go in the Rovers!

‘Bet Lynch was my favourite character. She had a pair of pink, kitten-heeled slippers, which were great.’

Twenty-seven years later, and Julia, now 32, has finally realised her dream. At the end of last year, she was cast as the mysterious Shona Ramsey. Naturally, she wanted to tell everyone, but with her character hiding a big secret – that she was the mother of Kylie Platt’s killer, Clayton – she was away until recently, when Shona revealed her identity to Gail Platt.