KISSING scenes are daunting for even the most experienced actresses — but teenager Elle Mulvaney relished her first “adult” screen snog as she knew it would embarrass the Coronation Street cast.
So Elle, who plays wild child Amy Barlow, mischievously decided to make the kiss with her screen boyfriend even longer than was scripted to make Simon Gregson and Kate Ford — who play her parents — squirm.
In an exclusive interview Elle, 19, reveals how she has found love off-screen, deals with online trolls and is grateful that she grew up in the public eye.
And while some viewers remember her as a schoolgirl with pigtails, she is now one of Corrie’s most glamorous young actresses.
She is marking her coming of age with her first-ever photoshoot, exclusively for The Sun on Sunday today.
Elle said of her TV kiss: “We decided to make it painfully long and in the rehearsal we did it full-on.
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“The script described it as a long, gross snog, so we thought it would be funnier if we really went for it.
“The cast and crew had read the script but didn’t expect that. Their jaws were on the floor. Even when they started laughing, we kept going.
“When we actually filmed it, we had to do it again and again to get the camera angles right. It was hilarious, because their reaction was the same every time. It never got less cringey.”
The 17-second kiss with actor Jack James Ryan — screen boyfriend Jacob Hay — took place in the soap’s Bistro bar in front of Amy’s embarrassed parents.
Screen mum and dad Tracy and Steve disapprove of Jacob because of his drug-dealing past.
Elle said: “Simon and Kate have known me since I was seven. Simon said, ‘It’s so weird watching you kiss someone’.
“That’s what made it funnier because you could feel the awkwardness. Everybody was embarrassed except me and Jack.”
Elle even sat down to watch the scene with her real parents, Carla and Simon, who are retired, at the family home in Bury.
She said: “I hadn’t warned them because I wanted to see their reaction, so they were completely shocked. They started to laugh so I said to them, ‘It’s part of the job!’.”
Away from the set we gave Elle her first taste of another part of her job — our photoshoot.
“I love getting dressed up,” she said. “Since turning 18 I’ve really enjoyed wearing nice clothes. It makes me feel good.
“Amy doesn’t care what she looks like, whereas I like a bit of glam and make-up.”
A sense of style is not the only difference between them. Rebellious Amy got pregnant at 14 then had a secret abortion, and viewers often see her partying and drinking in the soap with her friends.
Elle explained: “I like baking and running. I’m a goody two shoes and I never went to a club before I was 18.
The script described it as a long, gross snog, so we thought it would be funnier if we really went for it. The cast and crew had read the script but didn’t expect that. Their jaws were on the floor. Even when they started laughing, we kept going.
“Because I was on television, I felt I couldn’t do things like that without getting into trouble. It was a bit irritating, but now I look back and actually I’m grateful, because I didn’t make any stupid mistakes.”
Elle, who left school last year after A levels, began acting at four. Her sister Georgia, 22, joined a theatre workshop and Elle followed suit. By the time she was five she was an extra on the cobbles.
She said: “I played a shepherd in the school nativity in one episode. When you’re so young you just see it as a fun day out.”
At seven she tried out for the role of Amy Barlow, but Elle thought she had blown her chances after turning up for her audition in a state. She said: “I was always messy and I had baked beans down my top and I’d buttoned it up the wrong way. I even messed up my lines.
“Everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong, so when I found out I’d got the part I was gobsmacked. I remember thinking ‘I dunno how that’s happened’.
“Maybe they liked the fact I was just myself and a messy, bubbly kid. Nobody at Corrie is stuck-up.”
Elle is close to soap colleagues Simon and Kate. She said: “I love them to bits, although Simon is like a man-child. He’s always making jokes.
“When he said on I’m A Celebrity that he was always farting, he wasn’t joking. What you see is what you get with Simon. He always has everybody laughing.”
Elle also enjoys working with Bill Roache, 89, who plays her screen grandfather Ken Barlow. “He’s an icon and I’m in awe of him,” she said. “He always knows his lines, he’s always on time, he’s just spot on.”
In the latest Corrie storyline, Amy is in her parents’ bad books, having left home to live in a dingy bedsit with Jacob. Away from the cameras Elle has been with her student boyfriend Euan for the past year, and has no plans to leave home yet.
I was always messy and I had baked beans down my top and I’d buttoned it up the wrong way. I even messed up my lines. Everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong, so when I found out I’d got the part I was gobsmacked. I remember thinking ‘I dunno how that’s happened’.
She said: “I think it’s the maddest thing ever. My mum does my cooking and my washing, I’m very pampered.”
However, she did admit that she could see the appeal of shady Jacob.
Elle said: “Jacob is a bad boy. Amy needs somebody with a bit of an edge, because she’s very headstrong and full-on.
“I definitely like somebody with confidence. I’m confident myself, so it wouldn’t work with somebody shy. Euan has Jacob’s confidence but without the drug dealing.”
Instead, Euan is just the sort of boy that Steve and Tracy would love Amy to bring home — not only is he studying Japanese at university, he also hopes to become a professional distance runner.
Elle said: “He went out recently and ran 11 miles in 70 minutes. I was still in bed. I sometimes go with him but I can only manage 15 minutes.”
The couple met through friends but Elle had already perfected a way of finding out if boys really like her, or whether they just want to be with her because she is on TV.
“There are telltale signs,” she explained. “If you’re on a date with somebody and all they are interested in is who I saw at work it’s a bit of a red flag.
“Euan didn’t watch Corrie. He watches it now to support me but it helps if you’re with somebody who’s not an avid fan.”
Like many actors, Elle has been the target of trolls but young co-stars including Tanisha Gorey, 19, (who plays Asha Alahan) and Millie Gibson, 17, (Kelly Neelan) provide a shoulder to cry on.
Elle added: “I try to take it with a pinch of salt but there are other people in the show going through similar things.
“Any time I’ve really struggled I’ve told them. I’ve had so many FaceTimes with Tanisha where I’ve rung her and said, ‘This has really upset me’.
“We have a conversation and she cheers me up. We end up laughing by the end of the call and I forget about it. I’ve been tempted to come off social media but that just lets the trolls win.”
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To date, Amy Barlow has been portrayed by eight different child actors since 2004, making her the most recast character in Coronation Street’s history.
But if Elle has her way she will most definitely be the last. “I hope so!” she said. “As long as I’m enjoying it, there’s no point changing something that’s not broken — I’ll stay as long as they’ll have me.”
