Richard Fleeshman signs record deal

Former Coronation Street star Richard Fleeshman has signed up with Universal Records in a major recording deal.

The actor, who played Craig Harris in the soap before quitting last year, showed off his singing skills when he won SoapStar SuperStar and was offered a number of album deals shortly afterwards.

However, according to reports, he wanted to make sure he inked the right deal so he could write his own songs, meaning he will now have some of his own material on his debut album.

His mother, Sue Jenkins - who played Weatherfield barmaid Gloria Todd - told the Manchester Evening News: "Richard has just signed a big deal with Universal Records. It was important to him that he had the chance to write his own songs for the album.

"He could have released an album two years ago, but it would have been versions of other people's songs, and he didn't want that. In fact, he turned down lots of offers from big record labels for that very reason."