Inside Corrie Linda's life - soap rejection, EastEnders stint and co-star connections

dailystar.co.uk:

Coronation Street star Jacqueline Leonard recently made a sensational return to Weatherfield.The 56-year-old actress portrays Linda Hancock on the ITV soap and returned to screens for the first time in five years earlier this month.Linda left the cobbles following the tragic death of her daughter Katy (Georgia May Foote) in 2017, leaving her grandson Joseph (William Flanagan) in the care of Chesney Brown (Sam Aston).Katy was killed in a car accident in Portugal off-screen and after seeing Joseph growing up alongside Chesney's four other children, an alarmed Linda tried to convince her grandson to come and live with her overseas.But, who is Linda actress Jacqueline Leonard?

And where have you seen her before?While Jacqueline officially joined the Coronation Street cast in 2015, she auditioned for the soap a number of years before.Speaking back in 2011, the Blackpool-born star revealed she initially tried out for the part of Stella Price in Coronation Street.That role was eventually secured by soap legend Michelle Collins.Of her failed audition, Jacqueline told Inside Soap: "I auditioned recently for the new part of Stella Price.

I actually got down to the last few for the role, but as we now know, it went to Michelle Collins."That part would have been great to do because the Street set is right on my doorstep - but that's life, isn't it?"It's quite ironic really, what with Michelle being a southerner having to come up north to film her scenes!"Jacqueline is a bit of a chameleon and made her soap debut over 20 years ago on a rival BBC show.The actress played the character Lorraine and appeared in 170 episodes of EastEnders between 1996 and 1997, eventually exiting the soap to care for an ill family member.Before joining.