Corrie's Tina on screen family and Windasses

Coronation Street's Michelle Keegan has really come into her own over the last year. Producers have catapulted her character Tina McIntyre to the forefront of the show, alongside screen boyfriend David Platt (Jack P. Shepherd). Gail's (Helen Worth) new love interest - and Tina's father - Joe McIntrye (Reece Dinsdale) quickly followed and before you could say 'here come the Windasses', two new family units were born.

There's no doubt about it, Michelle's performance as Tina has injected a new lease of life into the Platt clan. It would be refreshing, however, to see Tina stand on her own two feet a little more. Maybe delve a little deeper into her back story? Learn a tad more about the relationship she has with her mother?

If you haven't already found it yet, click here to read my recent interview with Michelle. If you have, read on to hear what she has to say about the Windass clan, her screen mum, working in the Kabin, and what we can expect from her character over the next few months.

What have been your thoughts on the integration of the Windass family into Corrie?
"I think they're really good. They've settled in so well on the Street. Again, it's been great to have been involved in the storyline which introduced them to the soap. I think it was about time that the Platts had another rival family. It was the Grimshaws before - and Gail's friendship with Eileen still bubbles under - but the Platt/Windass relationship just works so well. I definitely think that there's still a lot to learn about them, though. Like any family, they have a past which is just waiting to be explored."

Tina has an interesting relationship with her father, yet we don't know much about their past. Is this something that we'll discover more about?
"It's quite possible in the future. At the moment, Tina looks like she's the one doing the parenting as she's the one lecturing Joe, rather than the other way around."

We've not seen Tina's mum Anna [Susan Mitchell] in a while. Will we be seeing anything more of her?
"I'm not sure, but I'd really like to see her back on screen. Even though she and Joe aren't together anymore, it'd be interesting to learn how and why their relationship disintegrated and how Gail reacts to her reappearance now that she's with Joe. I know that Tina doesn't really get on with her mum, so it'd be nice to explore the contrast between them and maybe see a little more where Tina's come from, as it were. Actually, that's quite a good idea for a storyline - I might pitch that one to the writers!"

You've had some great scenes over the past few months in the Kabin…
"When I originally found out that I was working with Barbara [Knox] and Malcolm [Hebden], I was so nervous. I mean, Barbara's a legend, isn't she! I love doing the Kabin scenes because it's a break from the doom and gloom of Tina's home life! I'm looking forward to Andrew Sachs joining, too. There should be some great scenes in the Kabin between him and Malcolm."

What can we expect from Tina later in the year. Can you tease us about what's to come?
"After the trial, I think she'll need to focus on her dad a bit more. Joe's troubled past is going to rear its head and impact on her more than I think she could imagine."