Coronation Street star Kate Ford has shared an insight into filming as she battles a painful illness on set.
The actress has been playing soap icon Tracy Barlow for more than 12 years.
And soon she'll be at the centre of a 'Meet the Parents' inspired storyline alongside on-screen husband Simon Gregson as their character's daughter Amy Barlow gets a new love interest.
But in a recent social media post, Kate has opened up about suffering with endometriosis.
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The 45-year-old took to Instagram with a pained-looking selfie from the Corrie set and can be seen wearing her red ITV filming coat.
Writing to her thousands of followers, Kate said: "Filming #itvcorrie this was a few weeks ago at a time that I was struggling with my #endrometriosis.
She added: "Luckily got lots of support x just sending a hug out to all those struggling with similar," followed by a red love heart.
And Kate's post was quickly flooded with supportive messages.
Former Corrie star Shobna Gulati commented: "You are so strong xxx and beautiful."
Co-star Samia Longchambon, who plays Maria Windass, simply shared a series of heart and hugging emojis.
@hughesjg74 wrote: "Sending love, Kate. Hope you're doing okay."
"You are a trooper@realkate1," @raqwat said.
@paul_911 commented: "@realkate1 …and still looking beautiful - I hope you’re ok Kate and take care!"
"From a fellow endometriosis sufferer to another.. Boss it babe," @b_kbogan wrote.
@ybbimi replied: "Seeing this has helped me be more open about my#endrometriosis thank you!!
"@realkate1 you did amazing though! And still looked fab," @ joannedunleavynelson added.
Kate has grade four endometriosis which is the severe stage of the condition.
It is where tissue similar to the lining of the womb starts to grow in other places such as the ovaries and fallopian tubes.
The soap star previously mentioned her endometriosis during the first lockdown in 2020 when she tweeted: "As someone with grade four endometriosis, I realise how much I rely on my massage therapy to help with this."
"Due to COVID I’ve not been able to visit my therapist for three months. My body is sore I’ll never take this therapy for granted again xx."
Soon Corrie viewers will see bad boy Jacob strike up a relationship with Tracey's daughter Amy, despite what he did to her cousin, Simon Barlow.
The soap's executive producer Iain MacLeod previously said that it's 'Meet the Parents' scenario done Corrie style as Amy brings him home to meet Tracy and Steve.
"We're pairing him (Jacob) up with someone whose historically quite well-behaved and wouldn't say boo to a goose and is quite sensible given her genetic provenance and that's Amy Barlow," Iain told the Manchester Evening News.
"We thought how would Tracy and Steve react to her suddenly ending up in a romantic relationship with possibly the most unsuitable boyfriend they've ever heard of."
He says the popular couple will do everything they can to steer Amy away from Jacob - from reverse psychology to cutting her off financially - with "increasing failure".
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