She is best known for her legendary role as head chef at Speed Daal Yasmeen Metcalfe after she joined Coronation Street back in 2014.
Throughout Shelley King's tenure on the ITV show, the 67-year-old actress has received critical acclaim for her portrayal of a coercive control storyline with her on-screen husband Geoff in May 2019.
It’s fair to say the actress is world’s away from her iconic character away from the cobbles but her reputation on the long-running show certainly added its own challenges in her life.
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As her character celebrates her 70th birthday on the ITV soap, Daily Star has taken a deep dive inside her love life.
Let’s take a look …
Away from the cameras, the soap star likes to keep her private life out of the press and now rarely makes an appearance at various soap awards throughout the year.
But one thing fans may not know about her is that she struggled with her sexuality for years before she came out as gay.
Back in 2021, the TV star explained her challenges with her sexuality in an essay publishes in the Metro where she revealed how she tried and failed to have romantic relationships with men for years.
She explained that growing up without seeing lesbians represented in the media was damaging and convinced her to “try to have relationships” with men during her life.
As a teenager, the raven-haired beauty was drawn to books, films and plays that were “all about women who were attracted to other women.”
However, it wasn’t always as enjoyable as it seemed, adding: “This was the early 70s and nothing I stumbled across seemed to have a happy ending.”
She admitted: “I tried to have relationships with straight men, but I had not emotional connection and it only ended up hurting them.”
Her life started to change after she became a professional actress, where Shelly would regularly “come into contact with women” in the industry.
Shelley admitted how much she struggled when she first took on a role of a gay woman when she was in her early 20s.
Looking back on her role, she recalled: “I’m an out fay woman but at the age of 24, 25, I was in a programme called Angels.
“What the then producers suggested was that they would make my character gay and I just wasn’t ready.
“The world was a different world. I didn’t know how to deal with my own sexuality then,” she confessed.
Despite being out to her family and friends, the TV star found herself falling into a downward spiral as she began to harbour “self-destructive crushes on women who would never return the feelings.”
Shelley went on to have two failed relationships with women before she found her “soulmate” Trilby James.
The soap star is now in a civil partnership with the actress and director who live together in a lavish pad in the heart of London.
After she met the love of her life, the Yasmeen star decided to come out to her parents at the age of 42.
She added: “After we got together, I ‘came out’ to my parents aged 42. They were not in the least surprised.
“I want to tell other people considering coming out to never be afraid of who you are. Whatever the circumstance, the people who really love you will support you.”
Shelley isn’t the only famous person in the relationship, with her partner Trilby also working as an actress and director.
She also boasts previously roles in hit TV shows such as Poirot, Little Lord Fauntleroy, Casualty, The Broker’s Man and Cake.
More recently, the director shared her thoughts on Shelley’s heartbreaking abuse storyline on Coronations Street back in 2019, and admitted she found it difficult to watch at times.
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Trilby confessed: “Just watching Shelley has been difficult. I had a nightmare about it the other day.
“You know it is acting, but if you’re acting things properly, truthfully, you are going to go to some grim places,” she added.
It’s fair to say Shelley has come on leaps and bounds since then and is now thriving both on and off screen with the support of her loving partner.
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