Coronation Street actor Mikey North has been a staple on the hit ITV soap since he was cast as Gary Windass in 2008.
Since then, he has starred in some huge storylines including a prison stint and getting away with murder. This week, the Coronation Street drama also came to a head after he was caught up in Sharon Bentley's wicked plot that saw him stood in the firing line.
However, while Mikey's character appears to lead quite the dramatic life on set the actor actually likes to keep a low profile when he's not at work.
From enjoying a happy marriage and parenting life to overcoming his secret phobia of driving, we take a look at Mikey North's life off-set.
The Scarborough-born actor in fact started his journey in television at an early age and starred in lots of local productions before he was spotted by a talent scout at college.
After honing his talents, the actor was then cast in the West End and enjoyed several roles in Waterloo Road, Doctors and The Bill.
He was eventually cast in Coronation Street and he has gone from strength to strength in his impressive acting career. Even after 12 years on the show, it appears that the star has no plans of leaving the cobbles anytime soon and previously revealed that he had renewed his contract with the show.
"I have just signed a new contract not that long back, so I am there for the next while," he told This Morning earlier this year.
He added: "I'm loving the stuff they have given me, I've had a great couple of years so I can't complain with the storylines I've had.
Marriage and family
Aside from his television work, Mikey is also happily married to his gorgeous wife Rachel Isherwood. The couple first met at a bar in 2013 before embarking on a whirlwind romance and falling head over heels for each other.
It was two years later that Mikey proposed and the couple went on to celebrate a stunning ceremony in Shrawley in 2016. Speaking about his big day, Mikey even admitted that he was almost in tears as he saw his bride-to-be all in her gorgeous ivory gown.
Speaking to OK! magazine at the time, he said: "Rachael looked amazing. I’m known for letting my emotions run away with me, so I was really concentrating on trying not to cry."
Mikey and Rachel's marriage has been filled with joy and the pair became parents two years later to a baby boy called Archie. His sister, Eliza, was then born in 2019.
Speaking about the birth of their daughter, the actor also told OK! Magazine that he had been nervously pacing about the room as he eagerly awaited the arrival of the couple's second child.
"I was just nervously pacing around the whole time and Rach shouted at me to sit down," he told the publication.
Musical talents
Not only is Mikey a popular actor on Coronation Street, but he also has a great set of lungs on him and has shown off his impressive singing talents in the past.
In 2010, Mikey was one of several celebrities that released a single in order to raise money for the ABF The Soldiers’ Charity.
During the fundraising efforts, Mikey was joined by fellow actress Poppy Jhakra, as well as stars Ian Aspinall, Rachel Hylton and Darren Day to perform a rendition of the Queen hit No One But You.
While Mikey appears to be largely sticking to his acting talents, his wife had even hinted that she would like her husband to appear in a future version of Strictly Come Dancing.
However, the actor suggested that he'd much rather do I'm A Celebrity than try his luck at dancing on the Strictly ballroom floor.
Overcoming hidden phobia
The same year that his daughter was born, Mikey finally overcame his phobia of driving and was over the moon to announce that he had finally passed his driving test.
Thanks to some encouragement from his wife, the actor decided to enroll in E4’s reality TV show All Star Driving School and was able to put his fears behind him after putting off learning to drive for years.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, the actor explained that he was more nervous about driving than he was about doing live Coronation Street filming.
"I almost had a phobia of learning to drive," he told the publication at the time.
"Passing my test, I've never been so nervous in all of my life and that includes doing the lives here. I was s****ing myself and when I passed I burst into tears like a big girl."
SInce then, Mikey admitted to driving all over the place and is pleased that he was able to put his fears behind him.
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