Jill Halfpenny praises 'Emmerdale' star niece

Jill Halfpenny has revealed that she is "glued" to Emmerdale now that her niece Chelsea is starring in the soap.

Chelsea has taken on the role of troubled Amy Wyatt on the ITV1 show and has been appearing on screen since October last year.

Speaking to Take 5 about her soap star relative, Jill admitted: "I've been glued to watching her. I think she's great. My only advice to her was to soak everything up and be nice to the cast and crew.

"It's a whirlwind being in a soap. You get so much attention and so many opportunities. Once you leave, you'll never have a job like that again."

Jill, who is mum to 3-year-old son Harvey, also refused to rule out returning to soap herself following her stints as Rebecca Hopkins on Coronation Street and Kate Mitchell in EastEnders.

She said: "People always ask if I'd ever go back to a soap like EastEnders or Corrie. Never say never! I try not to rule things out in my career. It depends where I'm at in my head.

"As soon as you have a child, it has a massive impact on what jobs you take. How long you're going to be away becomes the most important thing and how it will work with childcare."

Chelsea recently suggested that Jill would be an ideal choice to play Amy's mother in Emmerdale.

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