Coronation Street's Kym Marsh broke the news last month (February 2019) that she was quitting the popular ITV soap, leaving fans speculating over why she would ditch the show after playing Michelle Connor for over a decade.
At the time, the star stated that she wanted to "explore other roles"- and it seems she meant this quite literally, as come December 2019 we'll all be able to catch her on the big stage!
The 42-year-old has revealed that she has landed herself a role in an arena tour of Elf, the hit West End and Broadway musical, based on the incredibly popular Christmas film. The Hear'Say star will appear as Buddy the Elf’s girlfriend, Jovie- who was played by New Girl's Zooey Deschanel in the 2003 film.
Alongside Kym we can expect to see fellow soap-stars Shaun Williamson and Tam Ryan. Shaun, who played Barry Evans in EastEnders, will appear as Buddy the Elf's dad Walter Hobbs while Tam, who has appeared in both Coronation Street and Emmerdale, will star as Buddy the Elf.
The popular musical, based on the original film starring Will Ferrell, will tour UK arenas in December 2019.
Speaking on her new role, Kym said, "I am delighted to be getting back on stage and joining the cast of Elf this December. Elf is an iconic Christmas film and having seen the musical myself last year I am very excited to be part of this fun and heart-warming family show."
Swipe to check out all of this week's Corrie spoilers...
Coronation Street spoilers: week 12 - slider
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Carla is distraught when she hears through the grapevine that Peter has bought a new boat and plans to set sail right away. Realising this is her last change to tell him how she feels, she follows them to Southhampton where he's heading off from.
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Carla calls Peter's phone and Ken answers, telling her where they are. She jumps into the car and tells Peter she loves him and begs him not to leave. Peter's shocked, and tells her he loves her but she's bad for him – he has to leave.
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As they prepare for their big day, Imran hands Rana a wedding present from their mother and her heart sinks, wishing she could be there to celebrate it.
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Sensing Rana's sadness, Kate tries her best to comfort her wife to be. She tells Rana that they can postpone the wedding until she's ready, but Rana insists they go ahead.
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On the other side of town, Kate is growing increasingly anxious as she waits for Rana to show up for the ceremony.
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Finally she receives a call from Rana explaining everything, and telling her how much she loves her.
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The wedding day rolls round. As Rana dresses in her wedding dress she inspects the bracelet from her mother. Suddenly she's hit with a revelation and rushes from the house – where is she going?
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Meanwhile, Gary is celebrating his birthday and Number 8 with Sarah Louise promising to make it extra special.
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Tensions at the underwear factory are running higher than ever. Determined to fight for their jobs, the workers plan a protest.
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They decide to occupy the factory in protest of Carla's plans to outsource their production to external workers. Spirits are high as they file into the factory.
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What has Rana told Kate? And will the wedding go ahead?
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With the house to themselves for the day, Sarah tells Gary that she intends to spoil him rotten.
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Up on the roof, Gina and Sally have made a sign saying 'Save Our Jobs' and hang it off the scaffolding at the top of the building.
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But the quarrelsome sisters quickly descend into a heated argument. Suddenly, the roof that Carla has refused to fix since the fire becomes unstable.
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Before they can get to safety, the structure begins to give way and the roof collapses into the building.
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With the protesters caught inside, the building descends into destruction, with electrics flying.
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One of the workers legs gets trapped under some falling debris...
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... and Tim tries his best to make sure everyone is safe.
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But in a corner, having fallen from the height of the roof, Sally lies unconscious and unnoticed.
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Meanwhile, still devastated from Peter's rejection, Carla returns to Weatherfield to the aftermath of the accident.
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Distraught, she admits to police officers that she knew the roof wasn't stable but that she had refused to fix it.
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But David has turned his attention to Nick, and asks him if he staged the accident to make an insurance claim.Did he?
Shaun added to the excitement, speaking of how "thrilled" he was to be joining Kym and Tam, as well as describing the rest of the cast as "hugely talented".
Kym won the 2017 British Soap Award for best female dramatic performance, after her heartbreaking still-birth storyline on Coronation Street; sadly, a particularly poignant role for the actress.
It's set to be quite the year for Kym as she is also set to become a grandmother, with her daughter Emilie Cunliffe announcing her pregnancy in November 2018.
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