Alexandra Mardell has signed an extension to her \'Coronation Street\' contract.
The 26-year-old actress joined the cobbles as hairdresser Emma Brooker in 2018 and her alter ego has proven so popular, soap bosses have asked Alexandra to stay on until early 2021 at least, The Sun Online reports.
Alexandra previously revealed her mother was worried about her joining the soap in case she "ruined" her favourite programme.
She said: "She was worried I was going to ruin her favourite show for her.
"But after the first episode she watched it and she was like: \'Oh actually no, I like it, you haven\'t ruined it, you\'re good.\'"
Emma discovered Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson) was her biological father following the death of the man she thought was her parent, and Alexandra has previously admitted it was "very strange" playing out the storyline because her own dad Michael died of a heart attack in 2016.
She said: "It\'s very strange doing a storyline that happened to you in real life. I guess it\'s made me a stronger person. I miss my dad loads, but time is a healer and you\'ve got to keep going and think of the good times. We were very close. I was a daddy\'s girl."
But the actress hadn\'t mentioned her own grief when producers explained the storyline to her.
She said: "I didn\'t talk about it as I just wanted to do the storyline how I would any other.
"But when they found out, they were really supportive."
Alexandra has also enjoyed working with Simon because he brought light relief to their tough scenes.
She said: "Simon is so funny on set. The emotional scenes were so hard because he\'s a prankster.
"He put something under my cushion which went off with a bang when I sat down."
