Wheelchair user Cherylee Houston is joining the soap as new girl Izzy, who meets Kirk Sutherland through an online dating service.
But it is far from love at first sight - and Kirk won't be the only man on the street who gets to see Izzy's fiery personality.
Cherylee, 35, arrived at the Granada studios yesterday to begin filming scenes.
She will make her screen debut on April 16.
She said: '"I'm really excited and well chuffed to be joining the show. I grew up with Coronation Street and I can't wait to get started.
"I'm really looking forward to getting my teeth into the character.'
Disabled characters have briefly figured in Coronation Street in the past.
Ryan Connor's friend Phil was played by wheelchair user Richard Sargent, and Emily's niece Freda is played by deaf actress Ali Briggs.
But Cherylee, who has signed up for an initial six-month stint, is the first actress with a disability to become a regular face.
Access co-ordinator Ruth Malkin, of the Disabled People's Network Manchester, said she was pleased Cherylee had been cast.
But she said it was important the programme showed the real problems that disabled people faced.
She added: 'Obviously we think it's a positive thing to see a disabled person on television in a programme which is not a documentary show focusing on their disability.
'It sounds very interesting but I doubt very much the storyline will go deep enough to show the extent of the environmental and attitude barriers that disabled people have to face on a daily basis.'
A Corrie spokesperson said: 'Izzy is a real firebrand who wastes no time in taking on some of the Street's feistiest females, cutting even the most formidable foe down to size with just one swipe of her razor-sharp tongue.
'She's attracted to bad boys and, due to her own messy romantic history, she's become something of a heartbreaker.
'And when we meet her family we realise her troubled background has played a large part in shaping this complicated young woman.'
No comments:
Post a Comment