Former Emmerdale star, Natalie Anderson, is set to join the cast of Coronation Street.

Natalie will play Danielle, a character connected to newcomer Theo Silverton.

While it’s unclear whether Natalie is joining on a permanent basis or as a temporary guest character, this isn’t her first stint in a soap…

Natalie’s no stranger to soap (Credit: Shutterstock)

Who is Coronation Street newcomer Natalie Anderson?

The Bradford-born actress has been on our screens since 1996, when she appeared in BBC’s The Biz, a children’s TV show about a stage school.

In 2001, she appeared on Pop Idol, but sadly didn’t quite make it through to the live shows.

Fortunately for Natalie, her acting career then took off. By 2005 she was playing Nurse Stella Davenport in Heartbeat spinoff, The Royal, alongside another face currently on the cobbles, Amy Robbins.

The actress is currently 43 years old.

Natalie is best known for playing Alicia in Emmerdale (Credit: ITV)

Natalie Anderson as Alicia Metcalfe in Emmerdale

Perhaps most notably, Natalie joined the cast of Emmerdale in 2010. She was introduced as the older sister of Leyla Harding, and the adoptive mother of Leyla’s biological son, Jacob.

Throughout her five years on the show, Alicia Metcalfe was involved a lot of soap drama! Alongside romances with Emmerdale icons Andy Sugden and David Metcalfe, Alicia also had a temporary prison stint, almost died after being shot, and underwent a sexual assault storyline at the hands of the villainous Lachlan.

In 2015, Alicia chose to leave and head to Portugal. After his father’s wife, Val, was killed, her then husband David decided to return without her.

Despite Leyla’s recent death, Alicia didn’t return for her funeral.

During her time on Emmerdale, Natalie was nominated for a variety of different awards for her performance. These included: Best Soap Newcomer at the TV Choice Awards in 2011, and Best Actress at the British Soap Awards, TV Choice Awards and Inside Soap Awards in 2015, as well as Best Dramatic Performance.

Natalie also starred in Hollyoaks (Credit: ITV)

Natalie Anderson as DS Lexi Calder in Hollyoaks

In 2021, Natalie made her debut in another soap — this time, Hollyoaks.

Natalie appeared as DS Lexi Calder, a police officer introduced to uncover a lot of secrets about Hollyoaks’ residents. As a detective, many of her storylines involved solving murders. Lexi also had a daughter, Freya, who was injured in a minibus crash on a school trip.

The crash caused Lexi to start a war with popular Hollyoaks family, the McQueens. This rivalry came to an end when further murders needed to be solved.

Unfortunately, Lexi became the last victim of serial killer Silas Blissett. The character died 11 months after her first appearance, bringing Natalie’s time on Hollyoaks to an end.

Natalie’s about to join the cast of Coronation Street (Credit: ITV)

What else has Coronation Street newcomer Natalie Anderson been in?

On top of her acting roles, Natalie has made multiple appearances on Loose Women and This Morning.

She also won talent show Your Face Sounds Familiar, in which celebrities performed as various singers to win money for charity. Across the series, Natalie performed as Katy Perry, Britney Spears, Kate Bush, Justin Bieber, Bonnie Tyler, Jessie J and Mariah Carey.

Most recently, Natalie appeared alongside Corrie alumni, Michelle Keegan, in Harlan Coben’s Fool Me Once.

In the Netflix thriller, Natalie played the deceased sister of lead character Maya (played by Keegan). She appeared throughout the series in flashbacks, as the truth of her murder was revealed.

Natalie will play Danielle – a connection of Theo’s – in Corrie (Credit: ITV)

Who will she play in Coronation Street?

So far, all we know for certain about Natalie’s Corrie character, Danielle, is that she will have a connection to newcomer, Theo.

The builder clashed with Julie, George and Eileen when he first arrived, but quickly caught the eye of Todd Grimshaw.

While it’s clear that Todd has an interest in Theo, so far he’s insistent that the attraction isn’t mutual.

It’s been revealed that the pair do form a romantic connection in the coming weeks, as they give into temptation and sleep together. Theo then runs off, and tells Todd it can’t happen again.

Just how does Danielle fit into all of this? Will she help Todd and Theo to make a go of things? Or will she make it harder for them?