14 August 2010

Herald.ie Article

13th August 2010

By Keith Duffy

I'VE spent most of the week in Manchester filming scenes for Coronation Street, although I did manage to fit in a brief trip home to Dublin for a day.

I have to admit I find it exhausting commuting between Dublin and the UK as I seem to spend half my life at the airport, but it has to be done as otherwise I would never get to see my family.
Ironically, when I got home on Wednesday morning I was actually banned from the house as we've signed up to take part in a series of All Star Family Fortunes later this year.

There was a camera crew there all day filming with my wife Lisa and the kids. My Mam was there as well and Lisa's Dad. I'll be taking part in the show as well, but I wasn't allowed to be around when they were shooting the links as it's all very top secret.

As a result, I basically spent most of my one day off at home driving around the city. We did get to have some family time that evening though.

I was due back on set for filming yesterday afternoon, but I stayed at home until the last minute so that I could be around to launch Cadbury Ireland's €15m Bring Back the Play campaign along with Amy Huberman.

The two of us were down at Merrion Square to pose for pictures, where I was dressed up in a T-shirt with stripes on it and she was representing the spots.

I've known Amy for years as we actually worked on The Clinic together a while back. She's a great girl and always a pleasure to work with so it was nice to catch up with her. After that I had to dash straight to Dublin Airport in order to get back to Manchester on time.

Luckily the lads in DAA are fantastic. They look after me really well and get me in and out quickly so it takes some of the stress out of flying.

I've been putting in quite a few long days on the set lately as I have a big storyline coming up with Kym Marsh.

Excited

I was over there filming all day on Monday and then on Tuesday evening we were shooting night scenes, which I always enjoy. There's nothing quite like filming on the cobblestones when it's dark outside.

Basically, my character, Ciaran McCarthy, has been trying his luck with Kym's character Michelle ever since he first arrived on the street and now it looks like he's finally going to get somewhere.

I can't give too much away about it but I think viewers are definitely going to be surprised by what they see. Ciaran McCarthy is such a good character to play, he's all about having the laugh and the banter.

I will also be playing a part in Corrie's 50th anniversary celebrations, which I'm very excited about. To have such a successful show on the air for 50 years is a huge credit to all involved so I'm honoured to get to play a part in it all.

I'm staying on indefinitely on the show for the time being and then we'll see what happens in the New Year when myself and the Boyzone lads get back on the road.

We're not recording at the moment. The album is still doing very well here and around the world. Obviously we were number one here and in the UK for weeks, so we'll be touring that album next year. We're touring February, March and April of next year so I'm looking forward to that and getting back on the stage. It's still very difficult and surreal not having Stephen (Gately) around when we're planning these things. There are moments and days where I still get overcome by grief but it's getting easier the more time goes on. It's hard to believe that it's coming up to a full year since his death now. I'll never forget hearing that news last October. I was in a permanent state of shock and devastation for three weeks afterwards.

At the time of his death we and the family were very understanding of the media interest and appreciated that the public had lost an icon as well.

However, when it comes to his anniversary I think it's going to be a much more private affair.

Myself and the lads will probably plan something small to mark it and to reminisce together. We'll be meeting up for a reunion next Monday though as myself, Mikey (Graham) and Shane (Lynch) are due to join Ronan (Keating) to film scenes for the Australian X Factor. He's asked us to come on board and help him pick his acts so that should be a laugh.

In terms of his private life, I don't talk about it at all. Whatever's going on in his life is his business.

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