Coronation Street star Jennie McAlpine has been a staple of the ITV cobbles since 2001, when she was just 17 years old. Since then, her iconic character – once the unruly foster child of Roy and Hayley Cropper – has gone through so much on screen it feels like we know her intimately.
From being the first actress to ever act out a birth scene live on a soap to Fiz’s marriage to the murderous John Stape, Jennie has dealt with plenty of challenging storylines.
But her personal life has also been challenging at times – from battling it out in the rugged conditions of the Australian jungle on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! to the struggles with her family business.
To celebrate the star’s 38th birthday, Daily Star takes a look inside her life – from her forgotten Emmerdale role to her chef husband.
Secret chef hubby
(Image: ITV)
Jennie has been dating Chris Farr since 2005, and the pair eventually tied the knot back in 2017 at a secret ceremony.
The pair actually met after being introduced by Jennie’s co-star Antony Cotton, best known for playing Sean Tully on the cobbles, who phoned her up to bluntly say: “I’m here with your future husband. Do you want me to put him on the phone?”
They later tied the knot in a secret ceremony at Trafford Town Hall, Manchester.
It came after Jennie was determined to keep her personal life on the down-low, insisting: “I haven’t got time – for babies or marriage. I don’t like being the centre of attention so a big wedding isn’t for me.”
(Image: Instagram)
Chris, a restaurant manager, shares two children with Jennie – son Albert, born in 2014, and daughter Hilda, born in 2018.
In 2012, the pair decided to open up their very own Manchester-based restaurant together, dubbed Annie’s, and described as “The Rovers Return meets The Ivy.”
Speaking as the restaurant first opened, Jennie gushed: “It’s difficult to pick my favourite thing from the menu, but I can confirm the Annie’s hot pot is pretty amazing!”
Struggling restaurant
(Image: Manchester Evening News)
Jennie has confirmed that she doesn’t have the “skill or qualifications” her husband does to make a restaurant work, explaining in 2014: “We wanted to do something together, and our whole family wanted to be involved.
“Chris is the experienced restauranteur, and I just like food. I have got no other skill or qualification for this, but I like meeting people.”
However, the restaurant was plunged into debt in 2018, and faced further woes when coronavirus restrictions forced it to temporarily close its doors.
The Sun reported that as of 2018 the cafe was £428,658 in debt, with a source telling DailyMail at the time: “Jennie and Chris are hoping to trade their way back to profit but the margins are tight in the restaurant world and it is hard going.”
Annie’s managed to reopen once restrictions allowed, and currently has a four out of five rating on TripAdvisor, with plenty of reviewers praising it as an “amazing experience”.
Incredible weight loss
(Image: ITV)
Jennie has been candid about the secret behind her weight loss after managing to drop an incredible three dress sizes through healthy eating.
Speaking to OK! magazine last year, she said: “Ice cream is bad, salad is good – it’s not rocket science.
“If you eat more of the good stuff and take more exercise then you’ll lose weight.”
Through this method, Jennie managed to lose two stone – but admitted she tries not to “over-worry” about her body image.
She explained: “It’s really not worth beating yourself up over it. I know there’s pressure in this business, but I can honestly say I’ve never felt it myself.
“I’m not saying I let it wash over me because of course I’m aware of it, but I don’t let it bother me.”
Forgotten Emmerdale role
(Image: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Coronation Street wasn’t Jennie’s first foray into the soap world.
Back in 1999, Jennie took up a role in Emmerdale, playing Michelle Morley, a school friend of Ollie Reynolds.
Though she appeared in just three episodes of the soap, Jennie appeared in scenes amongst some classic Emmerdale characters including Bernice Blackstock (Samantha Giles) and Andy Sugden (Kelvin Fletcher) as the teens snuck some alcohol while on a camping trip.
Along with her Corrie role, Jennie also provides the voiceover for Supermarket Sweep and the celebrity spin-off, and has appeared on everything from Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway to Soapstar Superstar.
Stunning snaps
(Image: ITV/REX)
Though Jennie’s character Fiz might be down-to-earth – and ‘swapped for a younger model’ by husband Tyrone, who cheated on her for Alina – Jennie isn’t afraid to glam up for some stunning looks over the years.
During her I’m A Celeb stint she was even pictured in a sleek black swimming costume as she posed with her arms above her head in a bathtub, grinning at her fellow campmates.
And she seems to be in her element posing at various awards ceremonies – appearing in black dresses trimmed with lace, stunning pink numbers with sheer sections and a stunning blue velvet jumpsuit.
One of her most iconic jungle looks saw Jennie don a black-and-white polka dot swimsuit for a dip in the lake – clearly unafraid of the dank water.
Scottish roots
(Image: Getty Images)
Jennie has always been proud of her Scottish ancestry – and though she might not have the accent, her red hair clearly hails from the north of the UK.
Speaking about her heritage, Jennie said: “I’m very proud of my Scottish roots and definitely love coming up to Scotland. When I’m in England I really stand out because of my red hair but when I come up to Scotland I feel normal because there are so many people with my colouring.
“I definitely feel different having red hair, but in a good way. Even though I may sound it, I am no way English. My granddad Alan was Scottish and my grandmother was Irish. My other granddad was born in England but his parents were Scottish.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
