Exclusive: Nikki Sanderson eyes up Corrie comeback after dramatic show exit
Departing Hollyoaks star Nikki Sanderson made her name on Coronation Street, as Candice Stowe and reveals she would 'never close herself off' to a return to the famous cobbles
Actress Nikki Sanderson has lifted the lid on her rumoured exit from Hollyoaks in an exclusive chat with OK!, after more than a decade playing resilient but troubled Maxine Minniver. And though the star, 40, decided to take the leap without a new job lined up yet, Blackpool-born Nikki admits that she wouldn’t be averse to returning to the famous cobbles of Corrie, if the opportunity arose.
Nikki made her debut appearance on the Channel 4 soap as Maxine in November 2012, aged 28, after becoming a household name playing hairstylist Candice Stowe on Coronation Street from 1999 to 2005. Asked if she would jump the soap shift and go back to the soap that made her a star, she replies, “Never say never is my approach.”
Nikki teases ‘never say never’ on a potential Corrie comeback ( Image: OK!/James Rudland)
She has been dating fellow soap star Anthony Quinlan since 2022 ( Image: Daily Mirror)
The actress adds: “I love Candice and I love Coronation Street, so I’d never close myself to anything if they did want me back in the future, that’s the exciting thing about doing what I do. You just never know what might happen next.
“Who knew way back when as a little girl going to drama classes at The Carol Godby Theatre Workshop I’d spend the next 30 years working because of them? I’m under no illusion that it’s much tougher than it used to be out there, but I’m positive and have faith that I’ll achieve all I dream of in life, especially having Anthony, my family, and my friends by my side.”
The decision to walk away from Hollyoaks, she continues, was an “incredibly difficult” one, but she felt it was the right time. And now, after much of her working life on soaps, Nikki admits she is a mix of excited and nervous to get out there and audition again. “Now you have show reels and self tapes, but I never had to do that as you were just in a room with a casting director,” she laughs. “It’s all about the digital CV, whereas before you had the Spotlight catalogue which was like a Yellow Pages for actors!
The star admits it was a ‘tough’ decision to leave Hollyoaks – but she’s excited for what’s next ( Image: OK!/James Rudland)
“I’m excited about learning about this new world but I also have fear because I’m under no illusions of how the industry works, and there’s always the potential that you’ll never work again. But I want to be as positive as possible and see myself in these really incredible productions out there, and I’ll do everything in my power to be able to do that.”
Nikki, who turned 40. last year, also reveals in the exclusive chat and shoot that one of her favourite “things” is her boyfriend of three-and-a-half years, Hollyoaks alumni Anthony Quinlan, who played Gilly Roach from 2005 to 2011. The couple, who live together in the North West, went public with their romance in 2022 but keep their relationship largely out of the public eye.
“I don’t like to talk too much about my personal life, but I will say I’m the happiest I’ve ever been, Anthony is incredible” she grins, when we ask about whether they’ve talked about marriage or babies. “I’m in a wonderful, happy relationship, so let’s see what the future holds! Anthony really is my rock, he’s been incredibly supportive of me in my tough decision to leave Hollyoaks.”
