As Corrie ’s Fiz and Tyrone, they have been snogging each other on screen for more than 20 years.
But Jennie McAlpine and Alan Halsall confess that they can’t remember ANY of their TV smooches.
Soap fans have been glued to the screen by recent developments in the two-decade on-off saga of Fiz Stape and Tyrone Dobbs, willing them to live happily ever after.
And looking back at their tumultuous time together, Alan says: "We got to see our very first kiss, which was 21 years ago, so I’ve probably been kissing Jennie longer than anyone else in my life."
So surely locking lips will have left a lasting memory? Clearly not.
Asked if they remember that very first kiss, Jennie, 38, says: “I couldn’t at the time! I can now because I’ve seen it.”
Alan, 40, admits: “It was quite an interesting thing because we got shown various clips and honestly, I had no recollection of them.
“All these different moments in their lives… it’s 20 years, I suppose, but there were times where we had real, big, passionate kisses and we’re looking at each other and I’m thinking, ‘I don’t remember... I’m glad she doesn’t as well!’”
After Tyrone’s recent proposal, fans could be forgiven for thinking they are going to ride off into the sunset together.
But in typical Corrie fashion, all will not go to plan.
Fiz is less than enthusiastic and Tyrone secretly moves the ceremony to Christmas Day to surprise his bride-to-be.
We’ll be left wondering if the wedding will go ahead after Fiz breaks down driving in the middle of nowhere while hunting for a turkey.
But we’ve been reassured they will make it, and Corrie bosses promise the Christmas Day episode will leave viewers in tears – as Tyrone and Fiz finally tie the knot.
Everyone loves a Corrie wedding, from the numerous nuptials of Steve McDonald to the long-awaited Ken and Deirdre Barlow ceremony, which drew a TV audience of 24 million – more than Charles and Diana’s wedding which took place in the same week in 1981.
But Jennie and Alan aren’t about to get any matrimonial butterflies.
“You’re talking to someone who in real life went off and eloped,” scoffs Jennie, who married her real-life partner Chris Farr in 2017 in a low-key ceremony.
“The idea of being at the centre of attention in a big white dress is not my idea of heaven. It was freezing on the day and you can’t get a thermal vest under the wedding dress. And they take forever, soap weddings.
“I’m so ungrateful! I’m very grateful for the storyline. But is it fun? Is it ’eckers.”
Alan, who is dating ex-Corrie co-star Tisha Merry, 29, adds: “It was tight enough getting that suit on anyway so I definitely wasn’t getting thermals on under there.
“You’ve got a lot of people around with no dialogue and they get bored and they want to talk. There’s a lot that goes into it.”
Jennie chips in: I don’t know what’s worse. Sitting down in the congregation and bringing a crossword and trying to keep the energy up for three days or being the bride.”
The childhood sweethearts came close to marrying in 2015 when Tyrone proposed on Christmas Day. But it was called off when his debts came to light.
Then the couple broke up last year after he cheated with beautician Alina Pop (Ruxandra Porojnicu). This wedding will be third time round for Fiz, who married serial killer John Stape in prison in 2009 and tied the knot with Phill Whittaker this year, only to dump him for Tyrone on her wedding night.
Tyrone married Molly Compton in 2009, and made it as far as the church with abusive Kirsty Soames before dumping her. But he and Fiz have always come back together and their bond has been likened to that of Corrie legends Jack and Vera Duckworth – played by the late Bill Tarmey and Liz Dawn.
The couple took Tyrone in when he first arrived on the street and now he and Fiz live in their house.
So could they be the next Jack and Vera?
“It’s something I shy away from as much as I possibly can,” Alan says. “For me, Jack and Vera were out there on their own and they were absolutely brilliant. I’d like to be, with Tyrone and Fiz, but I don’t think anyone can touch Jack and Vera.
Jennie agrees: “Absolutely. Equally, it’s always lovely to be asked that and just the fact that, especially with their history with Al, they’re always remembered.
“There are pictures of them in our house and we’ve still got their bar and just because we live in their house it’s just an absolute dream and that’s what’s so special about Corrie is, you know, 60-odd years – we carry on and evolve. That’s what happens in life, but remembering that past is lovely. I hope we never stop that.”
Looking ahead to Christmas with their families, Jennie and Alan say their kids have begun to realise their parents are famous.
Mum-of-two Jennie says: “I think they’re realising more and more. Hilda’s four now and Albert’s eight. As far as Albert’s concerned I’m not in the England starting 11 so he’s not interested.”
Alan, who has daughter Sienna with ex-wife Lucy-Jo Hudson, adds: “My poor little girl’s have got it from every angle because I’m on Corrie and her mum’s on Hollyoaks, and my girlfriend was on Coronation Street.
“She just thinks it’s normal. Now she’s nine she’s getting a bit cheeky with it. We’ll be walking round a shop and she goes, ‘Look Daddy! It’s you there on a magazine!’”
