Michelle Keegan called the Coronation Street workload ‘never-ending’ during her draining six years on the show
She said that playing Tina McIntyre was hard work - the same week that it's revealed that Corrie is in crisis after key cast members quit over long hours, pay and toxic atmosphere on set
MICHELLE Keegan called her hours on the Coronation Street set ‘never ending’ as she battled through the heavy workload - days before the soap saw three stars quit in a week.
The actress – who played Tina McIntyre on the soap for 861 episodes between 2008 and 2014 – described how the long work days would see the actors work with multiple directors on several storylines.
Speaking to , Michelle said she was thrown in at the deep end when she joined the soap.
“I was working five days a week and I had to go through all the emotions: happiness, comedy, death, murder, court cases,” she said.
“It was never-ending. And it’s so fast paced – we had four directors in at a time. Your mind has to be so sharp.”
Coronation Street writer Jonathan Harvey says that on set, rewrites can happen at the last second and actors have to be ‘at the top of their game’.
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“They can cope with a schedule and learn rewrites in minutes – which saves a production company a lot.”
The comments come in the same week it was announced that three actors – Katie McGlynn, Lucy Fallon and Faye Brooks are leaving the soap – bringing the number of big name cast quitting to seven this year alone.
Kym Marsh, Tristan Gemmill, Connie Hyde are also set to leave – with Bhavna Limbachia’s character Rana getting killed off in the factory roof collapse.
The Sun revealed today that a toxic atmosphere on set, poor pay and overwork is throwing the cast into chaos.
One source said: “The pay gaps have become an open secret and the newer names know they are working far longer hours for a fraction of the cash. It has sparked a lot of unhappiness.
“Lucy is just the latest to get fed up of seeing great opportunities go to waste because Corrie won’t let her take them on. She won’t be the last.”
Another major source of discontent among the cast is the new rules stating they are expected to work on set at weekends as well as at any time of the day or night during the week.
One star told The Sun: “It sounds like good money, and of course it is compared to many people, but you are held to unbelievable conditions.
“You can’t live a normal life and there is constant scrutiny, on top of ridiculously long and unpredictable hours. It’s anything but glamorous.”
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