Actress Michelle Keegan has melted fans’ hearts with the adorable news that she has welcomed her first child with husband Mark Wright.
Michelle, 37, and Towie star Mark, 38, shared a sweet picture to Instagram announcing the birth of their daughter and revealing that her name is Palma Elizabeth Wright.
The couple were flooded with love from fans and celebrities alike, who all wished them the best for their new adventure as parents.
Michelle, who previously revealed that she plans to take ‘a good chunk of time’ off work to ‘enjoy being a mum’, has had an illustrious career so far.
Her most recent roles include Kate in Ten Pound Poms and Erin in Brassic – but do you remember her iconic Coronation Street role?
Who did Michelle Keegan play in Coronation Street?
Michelle got her big break in television on the cobbles, where she played barmaid Tina McIntyre.
Tina had a colourful love life, and was first brought into the show as a girlfriend for David Platt (Jack P Shepherd).
Her dad, Joe McIntyre, would go on to marry Gail Platt, before tragically dying in a boating accident in 2010.
Tina would also meet a grisly fate when Michelle decided to leave the cobbles for pastures new.
When did Michelle Keegan join Corrie – and how long was she in it for?
![Editorial use only. Exclusive - Premium Rates Apply. Call your Account Manager for pricing. Mandatory Credit: Photo by ITV/REX/Shutterstock (871624fc) 'Coronation Street' TV - 2008 - David Plat [Jack P Shepherd] dumps Tina McIntyre [Michelle Keegan] before she can explain to him about the abortion. ITV ARCHIVE](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/SEI_243685705-f57d.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Michelle’s first scenes as Tina aired on January 7, 2008 and saw her clash with Gail as she tried to get a last minute doctor’s appointment.
She stayed on the ITV soap for 6 years, before leaving in dramatic fashion in 2014.
During that time, she appeared in spin-off movie Coronation Street: Out of Africa, a number of sketches for Text Santa and the iconic 50th anniversary live episode.
She even featured in a one-off special called Farewell Tina, which followed Michelle’s final few weeks on set and looked back at some of the character’s biggest moments.
The actress was met with critical acclaim, winning Best Newcomer at the TV Choice and British Soap Awards in 2008, and the TV Choice award for Best Soap Actress in 2012 and 2013.
She also took home the now-defunct award for Sexiest Female at the British Soap Awards a whopping six years in a row!
It’s no wonder Michelle bagged so many awards and nominations, given that Tina was involved in some major storylines…
The death of Joe McIntyre
When Tina’s dad Joe died after his attempt at faking his own death to avoid loan sharks went wrong, Tina was devastated.
Believing Gail to have been responsible for Joe’s death, she publicly accused her at his funeral.
When Gail was found not guilty of Joe’s murder, Tina began to suffer with depression and withdrew from the community, until Graeme Proctor realised something was wrong.
Tina McIntyre’s surrogacy
![Mandatory Credit: Photo by ITV/REX/Shutterstock (3529635nu) Coronation Street - Ep 7883 Monday 4 June 2012 at 8.30pm Rick Neelan [GREG WOOD] heads to the Red Rec with Rita Sullivan [BARBARA KNOX] in his car! As Rick arrives Tina McIntyre [MICHELLE KEEGAN] is on the front foot and holding the bag and petrol can she says she's going to burn the drugs as she wants him off their backs. But when Rick opens the door of his car to reveal Rita she's floored. It's Rick who now has the upper hand as he tells Tina to return the drugs to Tommy or he'll drive Rita into the canal. Rita demands to know what's going on and Tina's forced to reveal all but Rita's not intimidated by Rick and spurred on Tina holds a lighter to the drugs saying if he doesn't hand over Rita she'll torch it all. Realising Tina's serious will Rick release Rita or is her wedding day doomed? Coronation Street 2012](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/SEI_243685702-2d6f.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
When boyfriend Tommy Duckworth’s dad Terry fell into debt with Rick Neelan – the same loan shark who had driven Joe to his death – Tommy and Tina found themselves in trouble.
In a bid to pay off Tommy’s debts, Tina agreed to be a surrogate for Izzy Armstrong (Cherylee Houston) and Gary Windass (Mikey North).
When Tina gave birth to Jake Windass in 2013, she decided she wanted to keep the baby. However, after seeing how upset the family were, she had a change of heart and handed him over.
Tina McIntyre’s relationships
Having started out as David’s girlfriend, Tina soon found herself pregnant with his baby. After confiding in Gail, Tina decided to get an abortion without telling David.
He later found out about it and the couple managed to work through their problems for a while, before ultimately calling it quits.
![Editorial use only Mandatory Credit: Photo by ITV/REX/Shutterstock (1691289ab) Tina McIntyre [Michelle Keegan] tells Graeme Proctor [Craig Gazey] to get Xin out 'Coronation Street' TV Programme. - 2011](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/SEI_243685709-1eaf.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
In 2009, she began dating Jason Grimshaw (Ryan Thomas) – who recently announced his return to the show. Despite getting engaged, their relationship came to an end as Tina struggled with her father’s death.
She also went on to have romances with Graeme Proctor, Tommy Duckworth and doctor Matt Carter.
Tina McIntyre’s affair with Peter Barlow
It’s safe to say that the beginning of the end for Tina came when she embarked on an affair with the much older – and married – Peter Barlow.
Tina grew close to Peter when she started babysitting young Simon Barlow, and the pair shared their first kiss on Peter’s wedding day to Carla Connor (Alison King).
![Mandatory Credit: Photo by ITV/REX/Shutterstock (3529682ku) Coronation Street - Ep 8264 Monday 25 November 2013 - 1st Ep When Simon Barlow [ALEX BAIN] tells Tina McIntyre [MICHELLE KEEGAN] that Grace filmed the bullying incident Tina's appalled and goes to find Peter Barlow [CHRIS GASCOYNE]. Coronation Street 2013](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/SEI_243685699-887c.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Over the next few months, their relationship became more serious, and Peter was torn between the two women.
Though he’d promised to leave Weatherfield with Tina, she was left horrified to find him in the Rovers with Carla announcing her pregnancy.
When Tina threatened to tell Carla everything, Peter got in there first and left Carla devastated.
Who Killed Tina? Tina McIntyre’s murder
That same night, Tina was found unconscious below the balcony of the builder’s yard flat, having been pushed off by Carla’s brother, Rob Donovan (Marc Baylis).
Leading up to her death, ITV released four scenes depicting a confrontation between Tina and each of the suspects – Peter, Carla, Rob and Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford).
However, it was revealed that Rob was the true killer, after he hit her over the head with a metal pipe.
Tina was rushed to hospital and later died of her injuries.
At first, Carla was the number one suspect in the eyes of the police, but attention soon turned to Peter, who was eventually jailed for the crime.
However, when Rob eventually confessed to Carla that he was the real killer, she turned him into the police, and he was soon sent to prison and Peter was released.
What has Michelle Keegan said about her time on Coronation Street?
In 2023, Michelle admitted that she knew she was taking a risk when she decided to leave Coronation Street.
‘When I decided to leave Corrie, I remember coming to terms with the idea of not acting again,’ she told Radio Times ahead of her Ten Pound Poms debut.
‘I always said to myself, “If I don’t get a job after this, at least I’ve had a good run: not many people can say they’ve had this career for six and a half years”.’
During an appearance on The Graham Norton Show in 2024, she explained how she felt her security had been ‘ripped away’ when she learnt that Tina was being killed off.
‘For me, [Corrie] was a massive learning platform’, she said. ‘I took a long, long time to decide to leave – it was very hard.
‘And then when they told me they were killing off my character and there was no going back, I thought I would never work again. My security was ripped away, which made me push forward and work harder.’
Tina’s legacy
Tina has been mentioned a lot in Coronation Street recently, following Rob’s return to the show.
Given his past, Carla was unwilling to accept his offer of a kidney donation, but eventually relented and went ahead with the operation.
However, it nearly didn’t get that far, as Rob had planned to do a runner from the hospital before going under the knife.
Fortunately, DS Lisa Swain (Vicky Myers) caught on to his plan, and told him that she would get his murder conviction overturned if he went ahead with the surgery.
When Rob found out he’d been double-crossed, he was furious, and decided to go on the run anyway, leaving Carla and Lisa on edge, wondering if he may return for revenge.
𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 “𝑭𝒂𝒏𝒑𝒂𝒈𝒆 & 𝑾𝒆𝒃𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒆: 𝒇𝙞𝒍𝙢𝒔𝙥𝒐𝙞𝒍𝙚𝒓𝙨.𝙞𝒏𝙛𝒐” 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧-𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐞𝐬.
