Andy Whyment is better known to fans as Coronation Street legend Kirk Sutherland.
The actor, who had roles in Cracker, Heartbeat and as Darren in The Royal Family, has played loveable ‘Kirky’ on the cobbles since 2000.
During his time on the ITV soap we’ve seen him have a rollercoaster romance with Fiz before he found love with on-screen wife Beth Tinker.
In a recent storyline, Kirk and Beth almost split up when he thought she had cheated on him with her ex Marco.
But away from the soap, Andy’s real life is much more settled wife Nichola and their two kids.
As he prepares to join the latest series of I’m A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here - following his previous stint which saw him come second in 2019 – here’s everything we know about his life off-screen.
Who is Andy Whyment’s wife Nichola?
Andy and Nichola met in Manchester in 2004 and are thought to have been friends for a while before getting together.
But while it might have been love at first sight for Andy, it wasn’t for Nichola.
In an interview with OK! magazine, Andy revealed: “I fancied Nic for some time, but nothing happened.
“Then we copped off one night and it wasn’t too long before I realised she was the one I wanted to be with. I said in my wedding speech you just know when you meet ‘The One’ and that’s true.”
Gushing about his “gorgeous” wife, who he married in 2007, Andy admits he has been “punching above my weight for years”.
He also claimed him and Nichola “never argue” and “get on so well”.
But Nichola said her first impression of Andy was he was “a bit of an idiot” when she met him so it took her a “good few months” to fall in love.
She added: “He was single and sharing a place with Al (Alan Halsall who plays Tyrone Dobbs in Coronation Street). He was just giving it big time and not doing what I wanted him to do.”
Does Andy Whyment have kids?
Andy and Nichola have two children together – Thomas, 14, and Hollie, 12.
The family are thought to live in Cheshire, with the award-winning actor having shared glimpses of their home on his Instagram account in recent years.
When he first appeared on I’m A Celeb he was seen sobbing in the Bush Telegraph as he missed his kids.
The family are often spotted out together and have recently enjoyed holidays to Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and Turkey.
But the actor won’t be adding to his family after undergoing a vasectomy.
He said: “There’s no chance of having any more kids as I had the snip a few years ago. We said we wanted two kids and we’ve been really fortunate to have a boy and a girl.”
Famous best pals
Before he started on Corrie 23 years ago, Andy was pals with Alan Halsall, who played Tyrone Dobbs on the ITV soap.
The pair even lived in a flat together for a while before Andy met wife Nichola.
Celebrating his best pal’s 40th birthday recently, Andy posted a snap of him and Alan on Instagram and said: “Today @alanhalsall turns 40.
“We’ve known each other for 30 years. I feel so lucky I can call you my best mate, my brother. Happy 40th birthday. Have the best day. Love you bro.”
Andy also regularly shares snaps with his Corrie co-stars on social media and bumps into other famous faces on holiday.
In one snap, the actor revealed he had bumped into former Emmerdale star Danny Miller, who played Aaron Livesy, in Turkey.
He joked: “When you’re on holiday and @danny_b_miller is in the same hotel. Kirk and Aaron on tour!”
Corrie name change
Eagle-eyed fans spotted that when Andy’s character Kirk became a Corrie regular, he had previously been called a different name in the soap.
As he burst onto the scene in 2000, Andy's character's name seemed to be named Mark, before changing to Kirk later on.
One fan took to Twitter to say: "Watching the old Corrie’s and I’m confused. Maria told Tyrone her brother was called Mark. Thought Kirk was her brother?"
After some investigative work, another wrote: "For some reason bosses changed his name from Mark to Kirk, only in soapland."
According to Corriepedia, "Mark" Sutherland was a one-off before the hit show's bosses decided to make Kirk a permanent character.
He has since went on to become a huge fan favourite on Weatherfield and recently signed a £125,000 deal to keep him on the cobbles for another year.
* Follow Mirror Celebs on Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter and Facebook .
Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at webcelebs@trinitymirror.com or call us direct 0207 29 33033
