As Coronation Street's Steve gives Michelle a birthday cake to remember this week, Kym Marsh and Simon Gregson talk to TV Times magazine about their relationship on and off the cobbles – and reveal their plans for the Easter weekend...
Steve and Michelle are one of the more stable couples on The Street right now. What is the secret of their successful relationship?
Kym: "Since they got back together, there’s a whole new trust thing between them. And they know each other inside out – they were friends before they ever got together. I don’t think they try to change each other. She knows what his downfalls are, and she kind of accepts them and embraces them because she wouldn’t have him any other way. He’s an idiot, but he’s her idiot!"
Simon: "They have a lot of fun; they get on. Steve’s been bad in the past; he cheated on Michelle with Becky. He knows he was lucky to get her back, so he can’t do anything to mess it up."
Who wears the trousers?
Kym: "Michelle definitely wears the trousers! I think they’re a classic Corrie couple. When you look at people like Jack and Vera - those couples that have worked really well - the woman is always the feisty one, and the guy’s always a bit downtrodden."
Simon: "Michelle certainly knows how to boss him around, but Steve’s one of those guys who will do anything for a quiet life. If he wanted to kick up a fuss, he would, but he can’t be bothered. He’s very much like Jack in that way – 'OK, just let 'em bang on for a bit, let 'em think they’re in charge, and then I can go to the pub and everything’s fine.'”
Do you find it easy to work together, given how long your characters have been a couple?
Kym: "Absolutely, when you’re sitting at home reading your lines, you know exactly what the other person’s going to do and how they’re going to do it. Simon may pull some funnier faces, however - he’s terrible. I always say to him, 'Whatever you’re going to do, do it in the rehearsal so that I can get used to it' because if he does something different in the take, I’ll just laugh."
Simon: "Totally, it’s very easy to do scenes with people you’ve worked with for a long time, especially if you’re friends with them as well. It’s very easy working with Kym."
What would you say each other’s best quality and worst habit is?
Kym: "Simon’s best quality is he’s just so funny. If you’re having a bad day, you know he’s going to cheer you up. The crew all love him as well, he’s a natural comedian. I don’t know if he’s got any bad habits. We both get really bad heartburn, so we share a bottle of Gaviscon on set. We’re like an old married couple!"
Simon: "Yes, there’s several bottles of Gavison behind the Rover’s bar. How times have changed! Kym’s best quality is that she’s extremely funny. Her worst quality is that she’s constantly got her phone in her hand, which she’s completely addicted to. I’m like 'Get off the phone, I’m bored!'"
Tell us about the birthday cake that Steve makes for Michelle this week...
Kym: "It’s the first birthday that Michelle has had on screen - I’ve never had one in nearly nine years, so I’m wondering how old I am! He buys her a nice necklace and decides he’s going to make her a cake, but it’s a surprise. He’s in and out of the kitchen all day, completely covered in flour, and she’s like 'What are you doing?' He brings it out and it’s slightly burnt, but she’s really chuffed that he’s gone to that effort. I think it’s his way of saying he loves her.
Simon: "She finds it cute rather than annoying, so the cake has a happy ending. And he’s made an effort with the necklace - he’s gone shopping, which is a big thing for a man."
Steve joins the gym this week so he can get fit and beat Lloyd in the fun run. We have visions of him wearing a tracksuit and Michelle laughing...
Kym: "Oh, believe me, you will laugh a lot!"
Simon: "It’s not a tracksuit, it’s a skin tight outfit. It’s quite a sight. And no, I haven’t kept it. I don’t want to ever see it again!"
Steve knows about Peter’s affair with Tina – could this cause problems for him and Michelle, given that Peter’s wife, Carla, is Michelle’s best mate?
Kym: "We’ll have to wait and see, but I wouldn’t imagine she will be very happy..."
Simon: "He really didn’t want to know this secret but it got blurted out and he’s got no choice but to be involved now. Why he doesn’t tell Michelle is beyond me - but he doesn’t, and I’m sure it will cause all sorts of issues later on."
Long-term, would you like Michelle and Steve to get married?
Kym: "I always said I didn’t want Michelle to settle down, but I would love her and Steve to get married. I think it makes sense and it would be nice to think they have some longevity rather than being one of those couples that splits up."
Simon: "I think Steve and Michelle being married would be good, and if they could be married without us having to film a marriage, that would be even better. They last two weeks and they’re dead boring. They could get married off-screen.... or abroad! The producer’s in earshot now. (speaks louder) Yes, I think they should get married in the Caribbean; we could do a spin-off. You could come and write about it, everybody’s happy! The producer’s not happy at all, but we are!"
Finally, what are you plans for Easter?
Kym: "We’re working on Good Friday, but we’re off on Easter Monday, so I’m going to take my tribe to London for the weekend to see some of their old school friends (Kym has three children – teenagers David and Emily, and three year old Polly). We lived down south during my Hear’Say days. I’m a massive chocoholic but at the moment I’m on this whole fitness thing. I’ve got to be careful what I eat, but I will make sure that Easter Sunday is my cheat day."
Simon: "We’ll be off down south to a friend’s place - I think it’s near a water park, so we’ll go there with the kids (Simon and his wife Emma have two boys – Alfie, 6, and Harry, 4). I’m not a massive chocolate fan, which people will probably laugh at when they see me on screen looking like some kind of huge bear. I wouldn’t mind one, but I wouldn’t be able to keep hold of it, 'cos the kids would be all over it like crazed animals!"
