Kym Marsh has heaped praise on the impact Liverpool has had on her glittering career.
The 47-year-old from Whiston is set to arrive in the city this week to star in the acclaimed musical, Greatest Days, which plays at the Liverpool Empire theatre from July 10 - 15. It will be the first time Kym has performed on the Empire's famous stage since she was 10 and she can't wait to return to a place she still considers home.
She told the ECHO in an exclusive interview: "It's always great to come back home. The people are so friendly and brilliant.
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"That's always been the case. I spent a lot of my childhood in Liverpool and a lot of my friends still live there. There's just something about people from Liverpool. You're very warm and very receptive and you know how to have a good time."
Greatest Days is set to the music of Take That and follows five boy band obsessed best friends in the 1990s, who reunite over 20 years later to see the band reunite one last time. Kym explained the show isn't a Take That musical as it has struck a chord with people across the country because it addresses a universal theme that will resonate with anyone who comes to see the performance.
She said: "It's a show that nobody should miss because essentially it's a story about friendship. It will remind people of their childhoods and remind people of some friends they've not seen for a while.
"At the end it feels like we're at the end of some kind of arena concert. It's unbelievable the responses that we get. People are on their feet. We have this big finale at the end where we invite everyone to get up, dance and enjoy themselves."
The Morning Live host is particularly looking forward to see how the feelgood show lands with a Scouse audience that is always up for a party. She added: "I always see Liverpool as a city of music and I don't doubt it's going to be really rowdy so I can't wait."
Kym now lives in Warrington and she is also excited to be able to sleep in her own bed while the show is in the city. She joked: "My travel time will be next to nothing so I'm delighted with that."
Kym first shot to fame as part of Hear'Say and has gone on to enjoy a successful TV career in shows such as Coronation Street and Waterloo Road. She remains proud of her Merseyside roots and explained how the city played a key role in her climb to the top as it was the backdrop to all her formative experiences in performing .
She said: "I was 10 years old when I started out in the Starlight Roadshow, which was quite prominent in Liverpool at the time. We played the Garden Festival then went over to New Brighton and that was what got me on the road to performing was being part of that group.
"My dad used to take me there every week. We'd go into Liverpool for rehearsals, we'd then go and do shows and went all over the place. That really was the start for me and taught me quite a lot.
"I spent a lot of my time from about 10 to 16 hanging out with people from Liverpool and a lot of my performance experience came from there so it had a huge impact on my life."
Kym is incredibly close to her dad, David, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2021. She inherited her love of performing from her dad as she revealed he was part of band, Ricky and the Dominant Four, who supported The Beatles.
The band's contribution to Merseybeat has been recognised at the Cavern Club as their name is emblazoned on a brick in the iconic music venue. Kym hopes to take the Greatest Days cast to see this special memento while the show is in the city.
She said: "When we go to Liverpool we always try and find it because it's a huge deal." Kym treasures her close family bonds and Greatest Days has taken on an even greater significance as she is sharing the stage alongside her daughter, Emilie Mae Cunliffe.
Emilie plays the younger version of Kym's character in the musical and she said it has been amazing to watch her daughter blossom as a performer throughout the tour. She added: "When we started out on the first day of rehearsals she was like a rabbit in the headlights. But that's because she's a singer and she's just recorded her first album in Nashville.
"She's doing really well but she's never done anything like this before in her life. She's not acted since she was a teenager so this was a big challenge for her." Kym added: "She went into that rehearsal room and I could see the fear in her face. But to watch the journey she's been on and to see where she's got to. I wish I could have filmed it all to be able to show her."
While some might expect a mum and daughter travelling around the country in a high pressured production to be a recipe for disaster, Kym said they never bicker as she gave birth to Emilie at a young age so the two are more like best friends.
She said: "I was 18 when I had my son and I was 21 when I had Emilie. I had two kids under the age of three, which wasn't easy at that age, but it meant we almost grew up together in a weird way. They made me grow up and I've watched them grow so we do have a very strong, close relationship."
Emilie was cast because the two share so many of the same mannerisms, in addition to being a talented performer in her own right. It is the 26-year-old's first time in a touring production and Kym said the two have been there to support eachother as it has been comforting to carry a piece of home with them as they travel across the country.
She added: "It's being away from your family that is the toughest part of all this. For Emilie [being away from her kids] was always going to be the hardest bit and I think having me there has helped because I understand it. I said to her, on the flipside, you've been through this with me on the other side so you've been the child and I've been the one away and look how close we are."
After the tour ends, Kym is looking forward to seeing Emilie tie the knot this summer as well as enjoying a well deserved holiday with her youngest daughter, Polly, who is aged 12. However, Kym joked she struggles to switch off and said it won't be long until she's looking for the next project as a busy schedule is just how she likes it.
She said: "I do never stop but I can't complain over the fact that I always seem to be working because I know what it's like to be on the other side of that. I do work very hard and hopefully I'm passing that work ethic on to my children."
Greatest Days is on at the Liverpool Empire Theatre from July 10 - 15. You can get tickets here.
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