Lucy Fallon nearly quit acting for midwifery before Coronation Street role

Lucy Fallon nearly quit acting to become a midwife before landing a part on \'Coronation Street\'.

The 23-year-old actress has portrayed Bethany Platt on the ITV soap since 2015 but she nearly didn\'t make it that far after failing to get into drama school, and she only tried out for the role because someone "forced" her to audition.

She said: "I was going to pack it all in to become a midwife, but somebody forced me to audition.

"Four years later, I\'ve learned so much and I\'m not in debt."

Several \'Coronation Street\' stars have gone on to appear in US productions and big-budget British drama shows, and Lucy believes one of the reasons for their post-cobbles success could be because they have a "warmth" about them thanks to their north of England charm.

She said: "I do think that being northern - no offence to people from the south - gives you something different. There\'s a warmth there."

\'Corrie\' script writer Jonathan Harvey believes there used to be a "snobbery" around soap actors but that has "disappeared", and now former Weatherfield women are beating actresses to roles Stateside.

Speaking to The Guardian newspaper, he added: "I\'ve got a friend, a British actress who is very successful in America, and if she goes up for anything in Britain she gets beaten by someone from \'Coronation Street\'.

"Sarah Lancashire broke out at a time when there was still a snobbery around how soap actors were perceived. But that seems to have disappeared."

As well as Sarah - who has appeared in the likes of drama shows \'Happy Valley\' and \'Last Tango in Halifax\' since leaving the soap - former \'Corrie\' stars Michelle Keegan, Suranne Jones, Katherine Kelly, Sally Lindsay, and \'Downton Abbey\' star Joanne Froggatt have all gone on to taste post-cobbles success.