Michelle Keegan says losing Coronation Street safety forced her to 'work harder' after worrying she'd never work again… as new Netflix series tops the charts

Michelle Keegan has revealed that leaving Coronation Street security forced her to 'work harder'.

The 36-year-old actress, who played Tina McIntyre on the soap from 2008 to 2014, said it took her a long time to make the difficult decision to leave the show and venture into the tough world of a working actress.

Speaking on Friday's The Graham Norton Show, she said: 'For me, Coronation Street was a huge learning platform. It took me a long time to decide to leave – it was very difficult.”

“And when they told me they were killing my character and there was no going back, I thought I would never work again.”

Adding: 'My security was taken away, which made me go further and work harder.'

During the show, Michelle's character was featured in many high-profile stories, including her relationship with David Platt (Jack P. Shepherd) and affair with Peter Barlow (Chris Gascoyne).

Tina died after being pushed off a balcony and beaten with a lead pipe by Underworld boss Rob Donovan (Marc Baylis).

Elsewhere in the interview, Michelle revealed the 'shame' she felt filming her new Netflix thriller Fool Me Once with Dame Joanna Lumley.

She spoke about the experience during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show, which airs on Friday evening.

Michelle plays Maya Stern in the series, an ex-army captain who tries to solve the mystery of seeing her murdered husband Joe (Richard Armitage) on a secret nanny camera, while Joanna plays her mother-in-law Judith Burkett.

Asked about working with BAFTA-winning star Joanna, she said: 'It was so much fun and we laughed the whole time.'

Yet there was a downside, and Michelle confessed: 'There were a lot of F-bombs dropped during the show, but I just couldn't bring myself to swear at her during rehearsal. I was just so ashamed to say that word.”

The series has rocketed to the top of the Netflix charts since its release on New Year's Day and Michelle admitted she couldn't believe its success.

She revealed: 'It's madness that it's number one all over the world. “I've always been a big fan of Harlan Coben's books, so when I got the call it was 'Yes, absolutely' and I grabbed it with both hands.”

The gritty new drama is a world away from her role in Coronation Street, which Michelle called 'a huge learning platform'.

She continued: “It took me a very long time to decide to leave – it was very difficult.

“And when they told me they were killing my character and there was no going back, I thought I would never work again.

'My security was taken away, which made me go further and work harder.'

Michelle recently shed some light on her future acting plans, confessing on This Morning: 'I always say I live in the moment. I am very grateful for every job I get.

'I always say I pinch myself and I do a lot. Maybe next I would like to play a darker role, all my characters are quite likable.'

Presenters Rylan Clark and Josie Gibson quickly interjected, excitedly commenting, “Ooh, you want to play a bad guy!”

'Yes, a little darker!' agreed Michelle.

And speaking about her role in Fool Me Once, Michelle admitted she loved the gripping story.

She continued, “I've read the book before and I couldn't put it down. I literally read the book in two days.

“I got the part where this was a huge twist and I let out such a loud gasp that everyone turned and looked.”

'It was quite difficult to go from Brassic straight to a drama as they are completely different ends of the spectrum, but I like the challenge of making a thriller.'

Michelle's husband Mark Wright recently took to his Instagram Story to praise her new series.

Mark – who tied the knot with Michelle in 2015 – was a proud husband as he wrote in a teaser clip: 'Incredible show, incredibly proud. @michkeegan you are a superstar.

'Fool Me Once all eps now worldwide on Netflix!! You want to binge!! Turn this on now!!”

Michelle is joined on The Graham Norton Show by Dominic West, Jacob Anderson, Alan Carr and American singer-songwriter Teddy Swims.

The Graham Norton Show airs on Fridays at 10.40pm on BBC One. Also available on BBC iPlayer.