Coronation Street has welcomed a very familiar face this week – Nicole Barber-Lane, who is best known as matriarch Myra McQueen in Hollyoaks!
So who’s Nicole playing in Coronation Street? What happened to Myra McQueen? And what’s Nicole’s link to another soap?
Coronation Street casts Nicola Barber-Lane
Nicole is playing a character called Ange, who’s going to appear in a few episodes. She’s the owner of a local cab firm that wants to use Websters’ Auto.
She shared the news on her Instagram feed, saying it was “such a pleasure to do a little cameo”.
Ange is only scheduled to appear briefly – at the moment – but Myra McQueen was also introduced as a secondary character and Nicole ended up staying on Hollyoaks for 13 years, so who knows what could happen?!
View this post on Instagram
Who did Nicole play in Hollyoaks?
Matriarch Myra, with her brood of children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews and cousins, arrived in Hollyoaks in 2006. One of her earliest storylines involved her long-lost son Niall Rafferty who showed up with murderous intent, leading poor Myra to be forced to choose which of her kids to save and which would die.
So dark!
Myra left Hollyoaks in 2013, after faking her own death! But she returned briefly in 2015 to support son John Paul after his rape. And then she returned permanently later that same year.
Baby daddies
In 2015 Myra got together with Diego Salvador Martinez Hernandez De La Cruz. The pair had a fiery relationship, each suspecting the other of cheating.
Myra got pregnant with her eighth child, but she and Diego broke up before their daughter was born. She named the tot Carmina, after the baby’s two half-sisters Carmel and Tina, who had passed away.
Myra managed to keep friendly with all her exes, including Sally St Claire, who had fathered John Paul before transitioning. The pair got close again when Sally came to the village and started a relationship. So with Myra and Diego having broken up, she and Sally decided to make a go of co-parenting little Carmina.
But Myra cheated on Sally before their wedding and left the village to go and see her daughters in Alicante.
When she went, Nicole thanked her fans for taking Myra to their hearts and teased that Myra could be back one day!
Nicole’s link to Emmerdale
Soap star Nicole also played a nurse in Emmerdale back in 2005, but that’s not her only link to the show. For many years, she was married to Liam Fox, who played Dan Spencer in the show.
Nicole and Dan tied the knot in 1999, and Liam became a devoted stepdad to Nicole’s daughter Jemma Healey-Lane. Nicole and Liam also have a son called Ben.
But sadly in 2015, the couple divorced.
At the time they released a statement saying: “It is with much sadness that we confirm the end of our marriage, though our family unit remains strong.
“We’ll always love and respect each other and are united by our children and family remaining at the centre of our lives.”
What else has she been in?
As well as Hollyoaks and Emmerdale, Nicole has had roles in Bodies, The Cops and an advert for Yorkshire Building Society. She is also a stage actress.
Her most recent on-screen appearance came in 2023 when she appeared as Susie in Shane Meadows’ period drama The Gallows Pole. This was set at the onset of the Industrial Revolution in 18th century Yorkshire. Quite the departure from Myra!
Read more: Complete Coronation Street cast list 2023 – meet them all here!
Coronation Street usually airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV.
Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think.