Since exiting Coronation Street, Michelle Keegan has certainly been enjoying success outside the soap.
After making her acting debut as Tina McIntyre, she played the character for six years before she was killed off - but the actress is glad that Tina's departure was permanent.
She told the Daily Star that the family-like setting of Corrie could've persuaded her to stay, adding that if she didn't leave she would've never left "because it was so comfortable".
"If the door had been left open at Corrie I would have had that safety net," she shared. "I would have thought, 'It doesn't matter if it doesn't work out, I can always go back after a year'.
"But the way things are I can't do that, so I have to go out and find work. I have to push myself now and go for lots of auditions. I'm a jobbing actress. It means I go to meetings and I enjoy that buzz."
Keegan is currently seen in the second series of BBC hit drama Our Girl, in which she took over the lead role from EastEnders actress Lacey Turner.
What to Read Next
She also landed the lead role in ITV series Tina and Bobby, playing the former character as the wife of football legend Bobby Moore.
"I didn't imagine it would go as well as it has since I left Corrie," she admitted. "I've been very lucky. It's been a case of the right place, right time."
Keegan, however, isn't stopping here. She's expressed her desire to be in a period piece, play darker roles and star in a film.
Our Girl will wrap up its second series this Wednesday, October 5 at 9pm on BBC One.
