Coronation Street star Millie Gibson has explained the story behind her bad girl character Kelly Neelan's eyebrow slit.
Her eyebrow has been much-talked-about on Twitter since the character arrived on the Coronation Street cobbles in 2019, and Millie has now set the record straight about her look.
Some Corrie fans have assumed that Millie shaved the slit into her eyebrow for her role as troublemaker Kelly, but Millie has confirmed that it is in fact a scar.
"It is a scar," she told us.
"My dad always gets frustrated about comments like that because people are like 'oh no she's put it in herself trust me, I know she's put it in herself.'
"When I was younger, I was about two or three. In all of my baby pictures I have I look like a right thug.
"I was running and I whacked my head on the corner of the banniser thing and apparantly my head was massive.
"It's never really healed but I kind of like it.
"It definitely works for the character."
Kelly was introduced as the daughter of loan shark Rick Neelan, who was trying to track down her dad and is still unaware that he was murdered and buried in the woods by Gary Windass.
Millie, from Broadbottom, previously starred in the ITV drama Butterfly, which followed the story of a transgender child.
She played Lily the sister of 11-year-old Max, who identified as female and wished to live life as a girl.
The three part mini-series also starred Rochdale actress Anna Friel and former Hollyoaks star Emmett J Scanlan as Max's parents.
Her character initially came into Coronation Street for four episodes and is now central to a major hate crime storyline which saw Nina Lucas and Seb Franklin savagely set upon by a gang of teens because of goth Nina's appearance.
As a result Seb died from his injuries and Kelly, who cruelly slapped Nina across the face before giving chase with her pals, is a prime suspect along with fellow gang member Corey Brent.
"I'm over the moon because it's been so nice to explore different layers of her because when she first came in it was kind of like she was a troubled girl looking for her dad anf then it kind of just started to unfold where she had all thee other problems going on and all these different encounters with other characters," said Millie.
"It's been amazing to explore Kelly.
"I thought it was going to be a once in a blue moon experience but I'm actually part of this amazing family."
Speaking about auditioning for Corrie she said: "I thought this was going to be good for a few days and I'm still here knocking about."
Asked about taking part in such a powerful storyline inspired by the murder of goth Sophie Lancaster in 2007 she said: "I was so moved to be a part of it, being asked to make it with all the other actors but also it's just so heartbreaking.
"It was surreal thinking we're doing this and we're going to do this right. I was really honoured."
And Millie says it's expected that people will have a strong reaction to her gobby character, who was recently fostered by Toyah Battersby and Imran Habeeb.
"It was expected because she is a tricky character to like. even Toyah is struggling to like her at the minute," she said.
Delving beneath the surface Millie believes her character's cocky front is just bravado.
"She's a cocky character trying to show off, a typical teenager," she explained.
"In the aftermath she's not going to be as cocky and more vulnerable."
Speaking about the gang attack she said: "She had a drink, she wanted to impress all the lads there.
"She wanted to be the fun girl, the cool girl, and impress everyone.
"She doesn't like her power being questioned so when Nina was being kind of 'you need to go home now' she was like 'right, I'm not having that.'
"I think it built up in her."
Millie, who is on the books with Scream Management at MediaCityUK and was snapped up by Scream after being spotted in a drama class at Oldham Theatre Workshop at the age of 12, says the reaction from the public has been mixed since the heartbreaking story aired from last Wednesday.
"It's been half and half," she said.
"I think some people forget fiction and reality but some people have been really kind saying 'I hate your guts so much so you must be a good actress.'
"It was expected so it's been alright."
