Vicky Entwistle decided to return to TV to see if she could still act on the small screen.
The 49-year-old star made a name for herself as Coronation Street\'s Janice Battersby from 1997 to 2011 before leaving to concentrate on theatre roles, but she was pleased to join \'Ackley Bridge\' to see if she was able to pick up her screen acting again.
She said: "I have loved all the roles I have played since leaving \'Corrie\'.
"Having the freedom to work on various very different projects is so exciting and I never stop learning and moving on to the next.
"I decided to come back to TV just to see if I could still do it. Ha. It is a very different medium than theatre but I still love it in equal measure."
Vicky plays mum Sandra Turner in the Channel 4 drama series, and one of the reasons she was drawn to the role is because her character is a mother of mixed race kids.
Speaking on the Channel 4 website, she added: "Playing the mother of mixed race children really intrigued me.
"My wish as an actress is to keep learning and developing, therefore this role was the ideal opportunity to learn about different cultures and to hopefully portray an honest depiction of how the merging of those can bring pleasure."
While Vicky enjoyed appearing on the show, she was slightly nervous about joining the cast in the programme\'s second series.
She added: "It\'s always a tad unnerving when you walk on to the set of an ongoing series, where everyone is familiar with each other and have already established their working relationships.
"But the cast and crew were so very welcoming to me and therefore I soon felt totally at ease. I really enjoyed the whole experience."
