Corrie star prefers charity work to soap role

Jennie McAlpine has admitted that she prefers charity work to her role on Coronation Street.

The actress, who plays Fiz Brown in the ITV soap, has been giving up her spare time to help the Mood Swings Network, an organisation which was set up by her father Tom to help people with emotional problems. The charity receives more than 250 calls per week.

"If I hadn't been an actress I'd have done something like this full-time," Jennie told the Daily Star. "It's loads more satisfying than being in Corrie. I love playing Fiz, but I get more out of charity work. I go to the office on my days off and answer the helpline or make cups of tea."

Asked how the charity can help, she explained: "Sometimes it's quite small things. We had this elderly widow who needed to go into hospital. But she wouldn't leave her little dog. So Mood Swings Network persuaded her to go while volunteers looked after her dog. There's not an official body that will do that."