Coronation Street's Helen Flanagan: My panic attack hell - Daily Mirror

Helen Flanagan

CLUTCHING her chest, Corrie star Helen Flanagan stopped mid-scene as she was gripped by a terrifying panic attack.

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It was the latest in a series of attacks but, as she returns to the soap tonight when her character Rosie Webster comes back from modelling in London, Helen insists shes determined to beat them.

Speaking for the first time about her battle, Helen says: I have recently suffered a few panic attacks. And as anyone who has ever suffered from them knows, they are very scary. I did have one at work and everyone was very understanding but I didnt know what might have caused it.

I am speaking to people like Kym Marsh (her co-star) who has said that in the past she suffered from them too.

I am trying to work out what triggers them so that I can start to deal with them and move forward.

But I am starting to realise that they are more common than people think and that there are ways of dealing with them.

The most recent attack was so severe, filming on the Corrie set had to be stopped until she fully recovered.

But Helen, 21, does not believe returning to work after her break had anything to do with it.

In many ways, shes never been happier. After two years dating Swansea City footballer Scott Sinclair, shes finally admitted: Hes the one.

Smiling, she adds: This is my longest-ever relationship and hes the one of course he is!

Scott is an amazing person. Hes really down-to-earth, hes dedicated to his job and hes just so funny. We have great banter together.

Scott Sinclair and Helen Flanagan

Hes quiet and modest and a really lovely person. Hes just Scott theres no one quite like him.

With Scott based in Wales with his Premier League team and Helen living in Manchester, the pair had been conducting a long-distance romance.

But then Helen took a three-month sabbatical from the show she first joined as a nine-year-old schoolgirl.

Spending more time with handsome Scott, 22, has helped their love to blossom and made them determined to overcome any hurdles.

Its obviously hard sometimes, with it being a long-distance relationship. But Im used to it now and being at Coronation Street puts things into perspective.

There are people here who are working away from their kids and that makes me realise that when youre working you just have to get on with it.

There will come a point when Scott and I live together and it will be amazing.

After her break from the show, Helen is back with a bang and is also starring in her own exclusive internet show Just Rosie, which follows Rosies fortunes as she seeks fame in Londons fashion world.

The three-part online drama, to be screened on itv.com sees the ambitious model swapping the cobbles of Weatherfield for the bright lights of the capital as she pursues her dream of being a top model.

The spin-off marks 12 years in the show for Helen but she insists she is happy to stay on the Street for the foreseeable future.

To take some time off like that was amazing, she says. When youve been on a show for 12 years you need a bit of time out and it was really, really nice. Lots of other people have done it and the producer was fine about it. I met up with all my old friends from school, went shopping, went on holiday, moved house, spent some time with Scott... and got my hair cut.

Helens sexy new blonde crop proved an instant hit with fans and kept her in the public eye even when she was off screen. But now shes back and this time shes back as a brunette.

She adds: Now Im back Im going to grow it longer again. Luckily Scott likes it whichever way I have it!

Helen met the former Chelsea player in 2009 when he was living in the North West while on loan to Wigan.

She went shopping to Manchesters Trafford Centre with co-star Brooke Vincent, who plays her on-screen sister Sophie, and Scott tagged along with a male friend of Brooke.

Helen explains: We went for something to eat. I think Scott actually knew that Brooke was meeting me and thats why he came, which is quite sweet.

We didnt particularly hit it off straight away Scott can be quite quiet but then he asked for my number and I said, Oh, alright, OK. And then we went on a date and I was like boom!

Scott is really talented and dedicated and Im very proud of him. Obviously hes really busy with training every day and now hes in the Premiership theres pressure, but his manager has said that when hes got a game in the North West at the weekend he can stay over, which is really nice.

Helen grew up in Bolton with her nursery nurse mum Julia, her electrical contractor dad Paul, sisters Jane, 29, a costumier, and student Jessica, 18, and 28-year-old electrician brother Tom.

She began acting at the age of four when her parents enrolled her in the Carol Godby Theatre Workshop in nearby Bury. Two years later she began appearing in television commercials for catalogues and clothing companies, including Adams, Daz and Fairy liquid.

She successfully auditioned for Coronation Street when she was nine and subsequently grew up on the show, with her mum chaperoning her every move. At 16 she left school to concentrate on acting full-time.

In the five years since, her love of fashion has emerged and she has developed her own iconic style.

Perhaps not surprisingly, her passion for clothes, coupled with having a footballer boyfriend, has led to her being dubbed the Weatherfield Wag.

I think its quite funny, she says. All the supposed Wags I have met with Scott are the nicest, loveliest girls you could imagine, so I really dont mind. When I go out, people sometimes expect me to be stuck-up because of the character I play but Im really not.

Helen as Rosie with Ryan Thomas as Jason

On screen, Rosie is happily settled with builder Jason Grimshaw and Helen says she enjoys playing her characters softer side the most, particularly recent scenes where Rosie defended Sophie when her sister came out as a lesbian.

Im really close to my little sister and really proud of her. You are obviously protective of your younger sister and I drew on that with the Sophie storyline, she explains. I dont like it that much when Rosie is being nasty to people.

3Find out more about Rosies life as a model at www.justrosie.co.uk

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