Before finding fame as a children's TV presenter, Helen Skelton was having a drink in The Rovers Return.
Helen is best known for her five-and-a-half year stint as a Blue Peter presenter, where she took on some incredible challenges and even set two Guinness World Records.
She landed one of the most sought after roles on TV after working as a reporter for children's news shows Newsround and Sportsround.
But her first dabble into the world of showbiz came while she was studying for a degree in journalism from the Cumbria Institue of the Arts.
Having worked as a waitress, barmaid and in a shop to fund her studies, Helen then got the opportunity to work as an extra on Coronation Street.
Although she quite quickly realised she didn't want a full-time career in acting, admitting that it was like a "foreign language" to her.
Get the news you want straight to your inbox. Sign up for a Mirror newsletter here .
Opening up on her brief acting stint in April last year, Helen told The Express : "I never had any desire, talent or ability to be an actress. I'm no actress, I mean I have so much respect [for them]. I'm always like, I watch you at work and it's a foreign language to me."
Helen, who was brought up on a dairy farm in the village of Kirkby Thore in Cumbria, saw the Corrie gig as a way to get some experience being on TV.
She continued: "I grew up on a real farm in Cumbria and had the chance to work as an extra on Corrie and it was brilliant, because it allowed me to learn the conversation of telly.
"It gave me - when you go and be on a set like that, I just got to watch how things were done and gain absolutely vital experience."
Being an extra on Corrie and other shows such as Cold Feet and Cutting It gave Helen some extra cash while she was at university.
While it was merely a stepping stone to other things, Helen did enjoy her time on the Corrie set and learned some of the secrets behind-the-scenes.
She added: "I was in the Rovers loads of times, so you just sit and drink grape juice, which they obviously put in there as wine. I had to stand next to Hayley Cropper a few times, so that was good."
Despite her acting roles, Helen wactually wanted to be a camera person as well as a journalist.
Her career really took off when she got into radio and became a host on BBC Radio Cumbria in 2005 - and she was one of the youngest breakfast slot presenters on the BBC network at that time.
After joining CBBC, Helen got the role of a lieftime when she took over from the departing Zoe Salmon to become the 33rd Blue Peter host.
"I am absolutely thrilled to have been chosen," said Helen when the news was announced. "It's a dream come true to get the best job in telly and to join the series in its 50th anniversary year is a massive honour."
In 2008 she entered the Malta Open Dance Competition with a 16-year-old wheelchair user as her partner - and they saw off 100 dancers to win the contest.
Helen became only the second woman ever to finish the 78-mile Namibian Ultra marathon in 2009, taking 23 hours and 45 minutes, then just three weeks later she ran the London Marathon.
The daredevil also achieved two Guinness World Records while kayaking down the entire length of the River Amazon for Sport Relief in 2010 - the longest solo journey by kayak and the longest distance in a kayak in 24 hours by a woman.
Helen announced her departure from Blue Peter in August 2013 to become a presenter of live FA Women's Super League football matches for the BT Sport channel.
"I have been so lucky over the last five years. I have travelled the world, met amazing people, been part of some unbelievable adventures and I have loved every second of it," explained Helen at the time.
"However, Blue Peter is a 24 hours a day, 365 days a year job, and with so many exciting new projects in the pipeline, I can't be there as much as I would like, so I've made the difficult decision to hang up my badge."
Helen married professional rugby player Richie Myler in December 2013 - but the couple have now sadly split up.
The devastating split comes just four months after the couple welcomed their third child, Elsie Kate, and they are also parents to boys Ernie, six, and Louis, four.
"Very sad to say that Richie and I are no longer a couple. He has left the family home," wrote Helen in an emotional statement posted on her Instagram stories on Monday
"We will be doing our best to co parent our small children."
Helen's statement came shortly after the mum-of-three shared a cryptic quote about the struggles of motherhood.
The Countryfile star appeared to suggest she was having a tough time when she re-shared: "A mama is always full of emotions, full of love, full of anxiety and worries, full of exhaustion and lack of energy, full of mum guilt and doubt, full of pride in her kids, full of pure joy.
Richie, who has left the family home in Yorkshire, has reportedly embarked on a new relationship weeks after his split from the TV star.
Insiders claim that Richie is in 'the very early stages of a relationship' with the mystery new woman and it came after his split from Helen.
Richie's pals have claimed the sports star has 'seen the young businesswoman several times recently' as their friendship has continued to grow.
"Richie appears to have been spending a lot of his free time with this younger, successful businesswoman," an insider told The Sun. "They are now in the early stages of a relationship."
Do you have a story to share? Email webfeatures@trinitymirror.com
