Coronation Street star Sally Dynevor said she wants to be “an inspiration to older women” when she appears on Dancing On Ice.
The 58-year-old actress, known to viewers as the ambitious Sally Webster in the long-running ITV soap, said she still feels 21 and wants to take “every opportunity” she is offered.
Dynevor features on the star-studded line-up alongside names such as Love Island’s Liberty Poole and Happy Mondays dancer Bez.
She said: “I hope I’ll be an inspiration to older women. If you get any opportunity to do anything just go for it. I still feel like I’m 21, not 58, so I just think you’ve got to take every opportunity.
“Now my children have grown up it’s much easier. I am a hands-on mum but I just feel like this is my time.”
Off-screen, Dynevor is married to Emmerdale scriptwriter Tim Dynevor and was followed into acting by her daughter Phoebe, 26, who is the star of Netflix series Bridgerton.
She said she hopes the public would see her in a different light.
She said: “I think it will be really nice for the public to see me dressed differently so the glitz and the glamour will be really exciting. I’m looking forward to that.”
Speaking about her character on Corrie, whom she has played since 1986, Dynevor said: “I like the idea of people seeing me for who I am after all these years.
“I’m quite private and I’m not very good at putting my head above the parapet so this, for me, is massive.
“That scares me a little bit because I’m very used to hiding behind a character and just being part of Coronation Street but it will be nice for people to see me as me and not as my character.”
Dancing On Ice launches on Sunday January 16 at 6.30pm.