Waterloo Road star Kym Marsh has shut down a scammer who created a hoax Facebook account in her name.
The actress, 48, plays catering manager Nicky Walters on the BBC school-based soap, but is best known for playing Michelle Connor in ITV’s Coronation Street for thirteen years.
In 2019, she departed the cobbles for what was then presumed to be a break.
Michelle discovered that her partner Robert Preston (Tristan Gemmill) was living a double life with Vicky Jefferies (Kerri Quinn), with both women assuming that they were in a monogamus relationship.
After jilting him at the altar in front of all their friends and family, exposing his deceit for all to hear, she jetted off for a new life in Ireland.
She continues to be mentioned by her on-screen family but hasn’t been seen since.
Yesterday, Kym took to social media to address a worrying fake account that had been set up to fool her fans.
The cover photo is of her kissing daughter Polly on the cheek, whilst the profile picture is of a verified badge which is typically accredited to those in the public eye to confirm they are the real McCoy.
The scammer also claims that they are from Whiston, in Rotherham, though Kym is actually from Whiston, Merseyside.
Alongside a screenshot of the profile she wrote: ‘And now a fake account on Facebook! Please block and report it.
‘It is definitely not me!’
Followed by a rolling eyes emoji, she continued: ‘I mean… if you’re gonna pretend to be me… at least get your facts right!’
Last year, both of ITV’s flagship soaps Corrie and Emmerdale were forced to address the matter of fraudulent depictions of their stars online.
In a new statement which remains pinned on their X and Instagram, they wrote: ‘Please be mindful that the Coronation Street and Emmerdale actors are often impersonated on social media platforms by scammers who set up fake accounts on platforms such as Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok and Telegram.
‘As producers of both programmes, we feel we should warn viewers that this is happening, and noticeably more frequently of late.
‘Please take great care when conversing on social media and be vigilant about these fake accounts by reporting them to the appropriate platform.’
Last month, Kym made a welcome return to her roots – albeit from a distance – when she uploaded a video outside of Corrie’s production base near to Media City in Trafford.
‘Filming something today on location and it’s brought me back to my roots,’ she wrote in the caption of the video, which showed her view of the studios.
‘Look where I am – by my old place of work. Hi Corrie!’ she added.
