Katie McGlynn wowed in white as she arrived at The Sapphire Ball at The Hilton Manchester. The former Coronation Street and Hollyoaks star dazzled as she channeled Hollywood glamour in her gorgeous thigh-split dress with matching white heels.
The Rochdale actress, sporting her new bobbed blonde hairstyle, added to her Marilyn Monroe-esque glamour with a Vivienne Westwood choker necklace at the Deansgate hotel. Her best friend Lee Bennett coordinated with a Westwood lapel pin accessorising his dapper black suit.
Katie was also delighted to be reunited with her former Hollyoaks co-star Gabriel Clark, who played her on-screen boyfriend Ollie Morgan in the Channel Four soap. "Reunited at last" wrote Katie as she shared a snap of the pair beaming for the camera on her Instagram Stories, and Gabriel looked unrecognisable with a new blonde hairdo at the annual event raising money for Manchester charities.
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Katie played troublemaker conspiracy theorist Becky Quentin in Hollyoaks after winning hearts and moving viewers to tears as tragic Sinead Osbourne in Corrie. Taking to Instagram to mark her exit in March she wrote: "Becky Quentin, over and out! @HollyoaksOfficial. "It’s been an absolute pleasure playing Becky and getting my teeth into something so different and gritty!
"As an actor, to be able to portray someone that has so much likeness to extremely current global issues from conspiracy theories to anti-vaxxers, coronavirus and sinophobia… I really hope the storyline has helped raise some important issues and helps people see how easy it is for someone to be sucked into this whole world of fake news and conspiracy!"
She added: "Thank you to the entire cast and crew for being so unbelievably amazing and welcoming me with open arms! I will miss you all, but other exciting opportunities beckon…"
Katie, who last year competed in Strictly Come Dancing partnered with pro-dancer Gorka Marquez, played Sinead from 2013 until 2019. She recently revealed her new shorter haircut while going back to blonde after a spell as a brunette for her role as troublemaker Becky.
Katie played Sinead in Corrie until the much-loved character tragically passed away after fighting cervical cancer shortly after her wedding day and welcoming a baby boy with Daniel. The star has revealed that next weekend she will take on a challenge in memory of Sinead to raise funds for the charity Mummy's Star which provides cancer support for women experiencing cancer diagnosis during pregnancy and beyond.
Sharing a snap of herself in purple workout gear in the outdoors as she raised her arms to the sky she wrote: "Next Saturday I’m taking part in a 15 mile hike across the Great Ridge in Edale raising vital funds for @mummys.star. Please donate what you can via the link in my bio, no matter how big or small, to help support women and families dealing with cancer in and around pregnancy - much like Sinead did on Coronation Street."
She added: "You can also donate via text message by sending ‘KATIEWALK’ to 70450 - and then follow up with £1, £2, £5, £10, £15 or £20 - and all of the money will be donated directly to the charity! Anything you can spare would be greatly appreciated!#charity #mummysstar #corrie #sinead #cervicalcancer #cancer."
lsn_alloys cheered: "You got this!! @katiexmcglynn." And wee.archie1 encouraged: "Good luck @katiexmcglynn , your doing an amazing thing for amazing charities. I lost my dad 4yr ago to cancer and just last week my mum has been diagnosed with lung cancer."
Last year Katie filmed as she went for her smear test to encourage other women to have the screening. The aim was to show how 'quick and easy' it is, telling fans the procedure could potentially save their life.
The actress acknowledged that during the COVID-19 pandemic a lot of smears were cancelled, but she urged people to get in touch with their GP to rebook. Her trip to have the test was shown on the morning ITV show Lorraine for Cervical Cancer Prevention Week.
Cervical screening checks the health of the cervix, the opening to the womb from the vagina. The NHS says all people with a cervix aged 25 to 64 should go for regular cervical screening. They will get a letter in the post inviting you to make an appointment.
During the screening appointment, a small sample of cells are taken from the cervix using a soft brush. Katie's character Sinead, who passed away on the show in October 2019, was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2018 when she was pregnant and temporarily stopped her treatment as she was worried it would harm her unborn child.
She discovered that her cancer was terminal on her wedding day in September 2019 after it had spread to her lymph nodes and her liver. In the soap Sinead was informed she couldn't have had cervical screening because she was told she was too young at 24.
Sinead's story prompted calls from viewers to lower the age for cervical screening. Coronation Street worked closely with Mummy’s Star and Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust on the storyline to ensure accuracy. For more information visit nhs.uk/conditions/cervical-screening
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