Coronation Street fans will likely remember villain Caz Hammond for her relationship with Kate Connor, as well as her sinister stalking plot which saw viewers beg for her to be axed.
The soldier ended up obsessed with Maria Connor, and even framed her for murder as an act of revenge when Maria didn’t fancy her back.
With Maria facing a murder trial after Caz faked her death, things were only resolved when she was arrested, heralding her exit from the ITV cobbles.
READ MORE: Corrie’s Tina O’Brien shows off toned tummy in crop top as she parties with co-stars
But where is actress Rhea Bailey now? From being left a “nervous wreck” after her show stint to her famous sister, we take a look.
Famous sister
(Image: SHARED CONTENT UNIT)
Rhea isn’t the only famous one in her family, as her sister is actually a very famous singer.
Rhea is the younger sister of Put Your Records On songstress Corinne Bailey Rae, who released her hit song back in 2006.
Corinne soared to number two in the UK charts and scooped two Grammy awards during her incredible career.
(Image: Getty Images,)
But Corinne’s life was marred by heartache when her husband, saxophonist Jason Rae, was found dead in a Leeds flat in 2008 following an accidental overdose.
Corinne remarried in 2013 to music producer Steve Brown, and has two children, along with continuing her music career.
Rhea also has another sister, Candice.
Musician fiancé
(Image: rheasbailey / Instagram)
Continuing the star-studded theme into her personal life, Rhea is actually engaged to The Overtones star Darren Everest.
The pair recently welcomed a child together, with Darren confirming to Hello!: “We know we’re very lucky. With the new house, the engagement and the baby, we feel very blessed as a couple.”
They originally met at Rhea’s Corrie co-star Kym Marsh’s birthday party, and Darren initially planned to propose to his partner in Lake Como in 2021, until the Covid-19 pandemic cancelled the holiday.
(Image: Redferns via Getty Images)
He instead got down on one knee the day they picked up the keys to their new house in Leeds.
Speaking about her pregnancy before she gave birth, Rhea revealed: “I haven’t been ill but the whole thing does feel like a complete body takeover.
“Statistically it’s actually safer to have your baby at home. It can usually reduce the amount of time you’re in labour as well so that was really appealing to me, plus Darren gets to be with me the whole time.”
She has since shared a selection of adorable posts to Instagram of her new baby girl.
Fan abuse
(Image: ITV)
Rhea’s character Caz might have been a baddie in the confines of Coronation Street, but it turns out some of that abuse leaked out into her real life, too.
She was hounded by fans on the outside world, admitting she was “upset” when people were mean to her in the streets.
Speaking to Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield on This Morning, the star admitted: “People take it seriously. It did upset me because I didn’t expect it, but now I have come to a place where I let it wash over me.
“I do spend more time than I should talking to old ladies, reassuring them.”
A ‘nervous wreck’
(Image: rheasbailey / Instagram)
All the abuse had a huge toll on Rhea’s mental health, as she eventually confessed: “I was getting anxious about it when I was out and about in public. It was affecting me personally.
“I had to ask a couple of people in the building not to refer to me as ‘evil’ while we are at work.
“If I’m getting it out on the street I don’t want people joking about it at work, because it does bother me.”
Rhea admitted a gang of pensioners “booed” her in the street, and was eventually forced to change her appearance in order to avoid angry fans.
(Image: ITV)
She changed her hairstyle to “distance” herself from Caz, and admitted that once she quit the show fans had done a U-turn and were begging her to come back.
She told Manchester Evening News: “People were upset by Caz’s story and I would constantly have people shouting things at me in the street. I changed my hair to distance myself from the character.
“I’ve changed it back again now and as soon as I did people recognised me again. They’re now saying ‘we miss her’ and ‘I like her.’
“People are feeling more sympathy for her right now.”
Flirty female fans
(Image: ITV)
It wasn’t all negatives, however, as Rhea admitted she got plenty of attention from flirty female Corrie fans.
The star admitted to The Mirror that she was approached by various women after portraying the same-sex romance on-screen, explaining: “I’ve definitely been hit on by a lot more girls than usual. The last time was at a funeral a few weeks ago.
“I was like, ‘is this really appropriate?’ but she was very sweet and attractive.”
But Rhea confirmed she’s only ever been interested in men, confessing: “You can fall in love with anyone but my track record so far is I’ve only been in love with boys.”
Other projects
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Since quitting Corrie back in 2016, Rhea has gone on to land a score of other TV roles – most notably starring as Mrs. Brody in CBBC show Hetty Feather, adapted from the Jacqueline Wilson novels.
She has also appeared in two episodes of Girlfriends, bizarrely under the name Corinne, the same as her older sister.
Rhea has appeared in a whopping 69 episodes of The Bill as PC Mel Ryder, along with achieving rival soap fame in Doctors, Casualty and Crossroads.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
