Boys are after one thing..my Corrie sister!
EXCLUSIVE BROOKE, 16, IS CHATTED UP BY GUYS JUST LOOKING FOR ROSIE'S NUMBER TEEN CORONATION ST. STAR TELLS OF SHOCKER
By Sue Crawford
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She's just turned 16 but pretty Coronation Street star Brooke Vincent has discovered that boys are interested in just one thing...her older on-screen sister. Brooke, who plays troubled Sophie Webster, has blossomed from a cute little girl with pigtails to a gorgeous teen. But so far she's mainly been chatted up by fellas looking for the number of curvy Helen Flanagan, 19, who plays her bed-hopping sister Rosie.
Brooke says: "I was on holiday recently in Gran Canaria and I was stood at the bar getting a drink and this lad asked, 'Are you off Coronation Street?' "I said I was and smiled and he shouted to his mate across the other side of the pool, 'Ryan, come here, come here! You know that fit bird out of Corrie?' And his mate goes, 'Yeah.' And he says, 'Well, that's her sister!' "
Brooke recalled: "I stood there in my bikini not knowing where to look. Other times boys will say, 'Has your sister got a boyfriend?' or 'Hasn't your sister got dead big boobs?' "But even when they're not asking me about Helen, it's hard to tell if a boy really likes me or if he's just interested because I'm on telly. I have a test in my head and I see if they ask me about Corrie in the first week of me meeting them. If they do I don't speak to them again because it annoys me. Coronation Street is not a big deal to me, but certain lads I know would say, 'Oh, I'm going out with a girl from Corrie'. If they don't mention the show at all, I think they probably are interested in me as a person."
Brooke's current storyline is hardly likely to see a string of eligible boys beating a path to her door. Having started dating hunky churchgoer Ben Richardson and attending a church-run youth club, 14-year-old Sophie announced on Monday that she and Ben have taken a vow of chastity. To the surprise of her parents Sally (Sally Whittaker) and Kevin (Michael Le Vell) and the amusement of sister Rosie, she proudly showed off her purity locket and revealed she will not be having sex until she is married.
Brooke said: "She's seen how her sister Rosie has grown up and that's not what she wants. Sophie's still the same cheeky person, but she's got morals now. It's a good storyline because it's a way of showing teenagers they don't have to feel pressured to sleep with someone because it's seen as the cool thing to do. But Brooke has no plans to follow Sophie and make a chastity pledge in real life. "I wouldn't consider it because I'm not a religious person, but it's different for everybody and I think it would be great if it took off," she says firmly.
Although Brooke has no intention of making a purity vow, she is in no rush to settle down. "I'm single - I've not found a footballer yet!" she jokes. "But I don't actually want a boyfriend at the moment. I'm quite busy with Coronation Street and now I've got a screen boyfriend, even though it's acting, I think if I had another half he would be gutted if I had kissing scenes. I think lads my age can be immature about that sort of thing and wouldn't be able to cope."
Brooke joined Corrie when she was just 11, but despite five years in the show her feet remain firmly on the ground. At weekends she still has a Saturday job at a local hairdresser's. "I've been doing it for two years but I just do nails, sweep up and make tea. I'm not allowed to answer the phone because I've got a common voice," she laughs. "I couldn't get too big for my boots and my mum would never let me either. She still shouts at me, even though I'm 16."
More polite and confident in real life than her screen character, Brooke's acting career has given her an old head on young shoulders - and there is little danger of her being photographed falling out of nightclubs. "Even though I could go to a pub and not drink, I'm so scared of getting caught and getting into trouble that I don't even go to the pub," she says. "There are consequences to being in the Street and it's restricted my teenage years but at the same time in a good way. It's kept me on the straight and narrow and given me something to focus on."
Brooke grew up in Audenshaw, Manchester, with her mum Nicola, 38, who works at scenes of crimes for the police. Her parents divorced when she was two and her dad Anthony lives in Tenerife where he is a tour guide. Brooke began acting at the age of seven after growing bored with swimming and dance classes. Her mum signed her with Manchester's Laine Management where she learned drama, winning her irst TV job in an episode of The League of Gentleman when she was nine. In 2004 she was offered an audition for Coronation Street. Brooke recalls: "I was really excited when I found out I'd got it, but really nervous." She left school with 11 GCSEs last year and is now studying for a National Diploma in Acting at Manchester City College. Alongside her in class is Lucien Laviscount, 16, who plays her TV boyfriend Ben.
Other students mistake them for a real couple, but so far they have not even kissed on screen. When that eventually happens Brooke insists she is prepared. She says: "It would be awkward with someone I'd just met but because we have a friendship I feel comfortable. It's nice to have someone you are relaxed with. I can turn round and say, 'Lucien, does my breath smell?' and he'll say, 'Yes!' "
That's purity for you...
