Brooke Vincent has revealed her plans to return to Coronation Street, six years after her character, Sophie Webster, was last seen on the ITV soap opera
Brooke Vincent has hinted at a return to Coronation Street in the near future. Her character, Sophie Webster, was last seen on screens in Weatherfield on October 9, 2019, before the actress took maternity leave, 15 years after she first waltzed onto the famous cobbled street.
She decided to take an extended period of leave due to not taking a “typical” maternity leave period. But with her two children now growing up, the 33-year-old has revealed she would be in a position to return to the programme should the call come in from soap bosses.
During her final appearance on the show, viewers saw Sophie go travelling after inheriting money from her Aunty Vi, with her character leaving Weatherfield in a taxi as she headed to the airport. But this could all change in the near future.
“I feel like Corrie for me is home,” Brooke exclusively told the Mirror. The Audenshaw-born actress went on to add: “Whenever, if ever, they ask me, I’d love to go back and see them. It’s a different type of job now we’ve got the boys. I’ve got a lot of friends there, it’s like my family.
“It’s such a lovely place to work, so definitely, I feel like I’ve had such a long time off that I’ve been able to enjoy my children without the schedule of how hard it can sometimes be. I think obviously now they’re a bit older and they’re a bit more independent, and there’s obviously the opportunity to take on more work.
“It’s the adult conversation, routine, it’s always a gorgeous place for me to work, and I have gone off and worked in different environments with different people, but Corrie is a huge part of me, and I feel incredibly lucky to have that.” During her leave from the show, Brooke has thrown herself into various projects, including presenting on Hits Radio as well as a touring appearance in Kay Mellor’s The Syndicate, alongside Max George and Gaynor Faye.
She said: “It was fab! I loved the play, I had a ball. It was a Kay Mellor play, so I felt incredibly lucky to be working alongside Gaynor (Faye) and Kay’s grandson, Ollie. It was a family production and we embraced our roles in it.
It was hard when I was working away, navigating uniform, hobbies, what do they need, there’s a lot that goes into being a parent. And when it’s paired with something that is also quite hard, sometimes, juggling it all, it can be quite difficult. On the whole, I had a ball and I absolutely loved it.”
Brooke grew up on screens, while her partner, Kean Bryan, made a name for himself on the football pitch, playing for the likes of Manchester City and Oldham Athletic, witht the couple now sharing sons Mexx, six, and Monroe, four, but she admits she has reservations about if their children were to follow in their footsteps.
She revealed: “It’s quite daunting when you’re a parent and they want to go into the profession you’re familiar with. Acting and footballer, those two professions are constantly proving yourself, getting up from rejection and dealing with that, growing with that.
“That’s something, my two little boys are so small, I’m like ‘I don’t want you to do that’, the thing that I love about them getting older, their personalities are coming out now, and you get to see what they enjoy and are good at.
“One of my little boys is a real performer; it’s nice to see them growing up and choosing what they want to do. I don’t know how I’d feel. I’d be super supportive, but there’s also a deeper level of understanding of what mentally you sometimes have to go through with these jobs. You want them to have the easiest life.”
While Brooke’s life may look super relaxed on her social media pages, the actress admits that every day is a struggle in the family home, saying: “Any parent will tell you, the second you have to think about other people and the dynamic of kids, school, uniform, which child has which hobby, it’s a different dynamic. Sometimes it’s like juggling in the dark; you’ve got no clue if you’ve gotten through the day.
“I literally just wing it. Every single day, I wing it. Some days, I win at it, and some days I don’t. That’s the reality of what life is like now. My job isn’t necessarily a job where I know I’m going to be, what time I’m going to start, or what time to finish.”
Her online followers often see Mexx and Monroe mocking Brooke’s outfits but she admits she finds this hilarious as children have “no filter” until they’re much older. Laughing about their brutal comments, she explained: “The kids, they’re very funny, they tell the truth – there’s been times where I think I look really good, I go downstairs and they go ‘What have you got on?!’
“They don’t let you off with anything. Or if I’ve got a spot, they’ll be like ‘Mum, what is that spot?’ There’s definitely power in their words, freedom of speech; they don’t have a filter until they’re a little bit older, it’s funny.”
Most recently, Brooke joined forces with Emmerdale actor Danny Miller and Capital FM broadcaster Wingman to discuss their parenting experiences on a hilarious podcast. However, the podcast has been a long time coming, with Brooke revealing the trio had been discussing ideas in a group chat prior to signing a deal.
Speaking about the project, she said: “Finally, it’s out there, which is a bit surreal. We’ve sat and recorded some eps, when other people get to hear it, it’s been nice, it’s fun, we like it, we’re having a good life.
We’re all in the same industry, we’ve been brought up very differently, our stories on the pod are about being parents, it’s very much tongue in cheek. There’s a lot of laughs, it’s nonsense, just getting together and having a good laugh.
I feel like ours is refreshing; it’s just fun, we have an absolute ball. It’s been funny to see how one conversation will start and the next we’re off on a tangent. It’s not super polished – we’re just being nuisances constantly. It’s a real, feel-good podcast.”
You Don’t Know You’re Born is available to stream on all podcast platforms.
