Brooke Vincent has given her younger cousin Ellie Leach some advice following her dramatic exit from Coronation Street last week.
It comes as fans of the popular ITV soap have recently witnessed Ellie's character Faye reunite with her daughter Miley and Jackson Hodge, the child's father, as the couple appeared to reunite and even shared a kiss.
The kiss eventually got back to Faye's boyfriend Craig Tinker who turned to blackmail following his heartbreak, but after realising the error of his ways let Faye decide her own path in life before she packed her bags and jumped in her dad's taxi.
Ahead of her dramatic exit, Ellie took a look back on her journey when she first appeared back in 2011 when she recalled some advice from her fellow cast members, including her former co-star cousin Brooke Vincent, who played Sophie Webster.
"I think people were just like, 'be yourself, turn up on time [and] know your lines,'" the 22-year-old told the Manchester Evening News and other media.
"Obviously that's the main piece of advice you give to anyone who is starting a new job like this. But I remember when I first started Brooke, my cousin, was like, 'Just be yourself. Everyone will love you,' and I think that's just what I've done. I've just been myself and I think that's why I've been here for so long.
"I've been myself but I've also made this part of me and that will never go away. Corrie will always be a part of me and Faye Windass will always be a part of me."
It comes as Brooke is set to make a career move herself in replacing Gemma Atkinson, who is going on maternity leave, on Hits Radio. It's the 30-year-old's biggest job since she left Coronation Street in 2019, as she opened up on the honest advice she gave her cousin.
“It’s been amazing to watch her [on Corrie] and a lot of our years on Corrie were spent together. I say to her all the time, she’s in such a lovely position and I just told her to go off travelling for a bit. I said 'go travel, go and see the world' because as soon as you grow up, you grow up, don’t you and it’s harder to do certain things.
“I say to her, ‘You know, if you want to do some more acting, go for it now. Push that now.’ Because when you have children everything has to work around them. So I’m literally saying to her, ‘Go to Ibiza for the summer, get off to America, go to San Francisco,’ and she’s like, ‘Brooke!’"
Brooke added of Ellie, who is godmother to her eldest son, Mexx: “But she’s done really well and she’s such a lovely girl and everyone absolutely adores her, so I don’t think she’ll have any problems at all.”
Reflecting on growing up on screen like Ellie, Brooke said: “Me and Sacha [Parkinson], who was playing my partner at the time, were always saying, ‘When we’re 21 we’re going to leave, we’re going to go travelling and do this, this and this.’ When 21 came around, we weren’t ready.
"You’re never ready to do that until you do it, so for me, I tell her [Ellie], go off and do everything that you can’t do when you’ve got the responsibilities of a house and bills. Have an absolute ball and have a shot for me.”
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