Paula Lane is grateful to ‘Coronation Street’ for giving her the "building blocks" to "create her career".
The 32-year-old star – who appeared on the ITV soap as Kylie Platt from 2010 to 2016 – admits her time on the show was a "rollercoaster", and she is pleased to have landed roles in productions ‘Be More Martyn’ and ‘Kinky Boots’ following her stint on the cobbles.
She said: "Life is wonderful. Family is the most important thing to me. Corrie was a rollercoaster and it’s given me the building blocks to create my career.
"My last role as Rachel in #BeMoreMartyn was equally as special – a true life lesson in believing you can achieve anything if you work hard enough. I find it fascinating that both my roles post-Corrie ring out the message, ‘Just be who you want to be’."
While Paula enjoyed her time on the soap, she would’ve liked to have had a more direct route to the Manchester-based set.
She said: "When I worked on ‘Corrie’, I always wished the tram had an express line from Victoria to Media City."
Despite departing the cobbles a few years ago, Paula has kept in touch with her former co-star Jennie McAlpine (Fiz Stape), and loves going to her restaurant for some chill out time.
She added to website I Love Manchester: "I’m very good friends with Jennie McAlpine and I love Annie’s, the restaurant she runs with her husband Chris.
"I love getting away from it all and relaxing there."