Elaine Metcalfe strolled onto Coronation Street during the global pandemic in 2020, who quickly stole the hearts of the millions of viewers tuning in at home.
But this wasn’t actress Paula Wilcox’s first stint in Weatherfield, in fact the star made her TV debut back in 1969 on the beloved ITV soap.
Since she left the soap 54 years ago, the starlet has paved a long and successful career in the TV industry after she launched herself into the spotlight in her 20s when she starred as Chrissy Plummer in Man About The House in the 1970s.
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Despite her overwhelming success on the silver screen, Paula has experienced enormous tragedy throughout her life.
As her character Elaine prepares to tie the knot with sadistic serial killer Stephen Reid, Daily Star has taken a deep dive inside her love life away from the cameras.
Tragic loss
Paula was hit with an enormous tragedy when her first husband sadly died just ten years into their marriage.
She was married to fellow actor Derek Seaton from 1969 until his death in 1979.
Derek was producing a play at the National Youth Theatre – and they got married a year later.
Despite his early age, Derek died of a brain haemorrhage at the age of just 35 when Paula was just 29.
"I didn't particularly notice the eyes," Derek told a magazine in the early Seventies. "Paula, to me, is the complete person."
Speaking of the tragedy to The Telegraph, Paula said: "It was bl**dy young. I was thinking about this the other day, and I realised that at the time I had spent a third of my life with him. It was a shock.
“But I think with any kind of tragedy or setback – and you know, we've all had them – it's really [about] how you deal with it. Any tragedy, it becomes part of you. It becomes part of who you are."
She went on to say the tragedy made her a “different person when asked if the death had changed her.
"Oh yeah, definitely. It makes you a different person. You grow. And you learn to cope."
Famous husbands
Many may not know that before his death, Paula’s first husband Derek Seaton had a very successful acting career of his own.
He played Commander Hilred in the Doctor Who story The Deadly Assassin.
Fans many also remember him from his appearance in Coronation Streetin June 1975 as crooked salesman Les Buckley.
His character was a smooth-talking salesman who conned Mavis Riley when she was left in charge of The Kabin for several days while Rita Littlewood was away visiting friends.
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He also made a name for himself in radio. He took over the airwaves in Radio 4's 1970 dramatisation of War and Peace, and held a regular role in the Radio 2 soap Waggoners' Walk, Four Days to Kill.
Wilcox went on to marry Nelson "Skip" Riddle 12 years later in 1991.
Skip himself has a claim to fame – the American businessman is the eldest son of the composer, bandleader and arranger Nelson Smock Riddle.
Nelson worked with many world-famous vocalists at Capitol Records, including Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Judy Garland and Dean Martin.
Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on ITV at 8pm.
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