HEARTBEAT star Tricia Penrose and her husband of 18 years — former TV host Mark Simpkin — have split.
The actress, 51, played bubbly barmaid Gina Ward in the long-running ITV drama series.
An insider said: “They decided to go their separate ways after realising they had grown apart and it would be better for everyone.”
The couple now live separately in Cheshire.
Tricia — who also appeared in Heartbeat spin-off The Royal, Brookside, Coronation Street and Emmerdale — has recently been presenting on Radio Wirral.
Meanwhile Mark, who had stints on Corrie and GMTV, has changed careers and set up as a funeral director.
He said last year: “Walking past a funeral home made me feel uneasy, like the feeling you get when going to the dentist.
“I now realise that being a funeral director is actually the most rewarding of careers.”
The pair sold their fairytale wedding pictures to Hello! magazine in 2003 after a star-studded ceremony at Adlington Hall, Cheshire.
In 2013 Tricia wore her wedding dress again for the magazine as the couple renewed their vows.
She said at the time: “For us it was an opportunity to celebrate how our marriage has grown stronger and stronger.”
That year she appeared on Celebrity Big Brother.
Sixties period drama Heartbeat ran from 1992 to 2010.
