'Coronation Street changed my life'

Actor Georgia Taylor on finding fun and lasting friendships on the cobbles

- SUE CRAWFORD

When Georgia Taylor joined Coronation Street straight from school, she had no idea how much impact the show would have on her life.

For not only did it launch her acting career, it's also where she met both her boyfriend and her best friend.

'I have so many happy memories associated with the show,' Georgia says. 'It changed my life when I was turning 17 and it's still having a huge impact on my life now, and a very positive one. I feel very grateful for it.'

Georgia, best known as Toyah Battersby (and later, Toyah Habeeb in the soap), joined the cast in 1997 and stayed for six years, before leaving to try her hand at other roles. She returned in 2016 after 13 years away.

'I'm still very happy that I made that decision to come back,' she says. 'It was absolutely the right thing to do. Life has a funny way of turning out OK sometimes, in a way that you maybe don't expect.'

At the time, Georgia was living in Bristol, having spent four years in the BBC1 medical drama Casualty. But last year she made the decision to relocate back to Manchester.

'It's wonderful being back, I'm absolutely loving it,' she enthuses. 'I'm 25 minutes from my mum and dad now, I'm 40 minutes from my brother and I've also got a lot of friends here.'