Soap stars take to the stage

Two former stars from soap rivals EastEnders and Coronation Street are due to play opposite each other in a production of Taming of the Shrew in the autumn.

Actress Nichola McAuliffe – who played Ken Barlow’s last love interest in Corrie – will play Katherine and ex-EastEnders bad boy, Ross Kemp will play Petruchio when the Shakespearean comedy opens in Plymouth in October.

The tale of the tempestuous marriage easily dwarfs the goings-on in Victoria Square and on The Street.

Ironically, McAuliffe is also focusing on other Shakespearean characters at present. She has taken the core scene of Macbeth as the basis for her debut novel, which is just out.

“The Climb Tsar”, published by Bloomsbury, is a political thriller centred on the power struggle involving police chief Tom Shackleton, his ambitious wife, Jenni, and a fictitious New Labour-style rising star at Westminster.