Corrie - Natalie Gumede

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Natalie Gumede: I'd be happy if my character turn out to be villainous
Rick Fulton
Feb 11 2012
dailyrecord.co.uk

SHE'S newly single but Coronation Street's newest hottie Natalie Gumede will be hoping when someone does ask for her hand in marriage, it's more romantic than her Weatherfield alter-ego. The possessive policewoman Kirsty Soames has been causing scandal since she arrived in the Street last year. She's now pregnant with Tyrone Dobbs' baby but this week he accuses her of an affair before realising his mistake, trying to apologise and then proposing to her - in the police station.

Natalie, 27, who says she is nothing like her character, revealed: "It's a Valentine's proposal and quite sweet. Tyrone gets down on one knee with a local drunk constantly interrupting. It's a proposal they won't forget in a hurry and I hope if I'm ever asked it will be in nicer surroundings." Natalie said: “An awful lot has happened in a short period of time for Tyrone and Kirsty. The pregnancy is far from ideal. I don’t think many couples would plan to be pregnant within a few months of meeting each other. When they discovered Kirsty was pregnant, they’d split up and weren’t a couple so it’s definitely providing a challenge.”

No wonder then that Natalie is already attracting some negativity on the streets of Manchester where she’s moved to from London. She said: “I’ve already had people shouting, ‘Leave our Tina alone’ and, ‘You’d better look after Tyrone!’ at me in the street.” Many Street fans reckon Kirsty is going to be Corrie’s new villain – a policewoman ready to take on anyone who doesn’t do what she wants. Natalie purred: “Potentially she could be. She’s certainly a dark character and I’d be happy if she turned out to be villainous for a while. There’s certainly an edge with Kirsty and a lot more to discover. She’s damaged goods but I hope she comes out the other side and we see some justification for why she is the way she is.” Tyrone’s friends Tommy and Tina certainly think she’s rotten through and through.

And Natalie promises that Kirsty will continue to make enemies of her boyfriend’s meddling housemates in the months to come. Winning the Corrie part was fourth time lucky for the actress who had tried three times over a four-year period to join the soap. She was working in an estate agent, waiting for her next job, when she heard the news that she had finally been successful. But becoming the girlfriend of one of the Street’s best-loved characters is a big challenge.

Alan Halsall, who plays Tyrone, and Vicky Binns, who played his first wife Molly, were seen by many as the new Jack and Vera. Clearly Kirsty has issues of control and possessiveness but poor Tyrone discovered his first wife had an affair with his boss and their son Jack wasn’t his, so is desperate for happiness. Will Kirsty be for keeps? Natalie said: “I’m in until July and then there are a couple of options so I don’t know if I’m just a vehicle for Tyrone or Tina or if it’s a long term thing. So I’m just enjoying every minute because I love going to work every day.”

Although she was born in Burnley and grew up in Colne, Lancashire with her mum, Kirsty is one English northerner who doesn’t see starring in Corrie as a homecoming. She has lived for the last decade in London and after splitting with her DJ boyfriend Saul Bliss, who she lived with, has made a clean break and moved to ­Manchester. But the first time she walked along the famous cobbles she admitted getting collywobbles.

Natalie said: “When you go on the Street for the first time, it’s kind of like it’s got its own personality and soul. You really feel it living and breathing. Corrie is a huge ship. You have to jump on and take an oar and work with it. You are such a small part of what makes the show great. That set has a life of its own for sure and is absolutely the star of the show.”

Natalie was only 11 when she got her first taste of fame, presenting a regional opt-out of Children in Need. At the age of 17, she moved to London after landing a place at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts. A year after she graduated in 2003, she won the role of China in the Johnny Vegas cult BBC3 comedy Ideal. She has also had parts in Emmerdale and Doctors. But Corrie’s Kirsty has been “a gift”.

Natalie said: “For a young woman to play someone with an edge and a dark side is quite a rare opportunity. I’m loving every minute of it.” She’s even started to like playing a policewoman. “The first couple of times I wore the costume, I was a bit girly over it. I had ‘hat hair’, an itchy jumper, a heavy stab vest, belts and ­clod-hopping shoes and I just wasn’t happy. But they actually help with the character. They weigh you down and centre you, even changing the way you walk. The costume gives you a harder edge, which you have to project with the things the police have to deal with. Now I love playing a policewoman.”

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I think if I saw her in the street I'd have to shout BOOOOOO!!!

[SpursFan1902]

Me too! I don't like her. Tyrone is far too nice for her. Why can't he find a nice girl?

[SpursFan1902]

I REALLY don't like her. She is so self centered and greedy. Goodness...let Ty have a life!!! I wonder if we are going to find out this is not Ty's baby after all and he is going to lose another kiddie....that would be sad for him but probably the best thing that could happen to him!

[Twirley]

The writers are definitely building to something. She has a screw loose and there's definitely more going on than she's had a guy cheat on her and break her heart. I like the paradox of her being a policewoman but also that there's something suspicious about her.

[SpursFan1902]

You can see her flip....something in her eyes changes when she goes on one of her rampages. She is kinda scary actually...

[SpursFan1902]

She is a total nut job! I really thought she was going to try to convince people that it was actually Ty doing the beating instead of her. She needs help...

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[Twirley]

She's definitely a good actress. I can see her playing roles like those played by Tracy Ann Oberman or Alex Kingston - she certainly has the hair!