Coronation Street fans have been left floored after discovering where they recognise the actress who plays Paula. The troublemaker (Kelli Hollis) made her debut on the ITV soap earlier this year as one of the prison inmates living with Debbie Webster (Sue Devaney).
Fans will recall Debbie - who has dementia - spent time behind bars after pleading guilty to dangerous driving and causing the death of local vicar Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank) in the epic Corriedale episode. While in prison, Debbie came to blows with Paula, before eventually being released while Paula remained behind bars.
Paula's Return to the Cobbles
In recent weeks on the programme, it appears that Debbie’s dementia has worsened. In Wednesday’s episode (October 21), Paula made her return to the soap after she was seen having a drink at the Chariot Square Hotel while listening in on a conversation between Carl (Jonathan Howard) and Ronnie (Vinta Morgan) sharing their concerns about Debbie's dementia getting worse.
Paula’s return has got fans talking, and some have been left stunned after realising where they recognise the actress Kelli Hollis from. On a Coronation Street Facebook fan page, one person said: “Oh dear that one who was in prison with Debbie is back, where do I recognise her from?”
Fans Recall Her Past Roles
Someone else explained: “She was in Emmerdale, played Amelia’s mum.” A third then wrote: “Shameless as well.” Another person said: “Thought it was her.”
Throughout her career, Kelli has appeared in several shows including Channel 4’s Shameless, playing Yvonne Karib for six years. She also portrayed Linda in the drama Ackley Bridge and Chantel in BBC1 drama Waterloo Road. In 2006, Kelli played Anne West in the TV film See No Evil about the Moors Murders.
Her Time in Emmerdale
In 2011, Kelli joined Emmerdale, playing Ali Spencer, mum of Sean (Luke Roskell) and Amelia (Daisy Campbell). The character left the soap to move away to Liverpool in 2015, but in 2018, Ali was killed off-screen in a car accident.
Talking in 2021 about her character being killed off, Kelli told the Soap From the Box podcast: “I’ll be honest, they were so lovely and actually rang me to tell me they were killing her off-screen. I got a lovely phone call and a message, ‘Just so you know, we’re going to kill you off’. There’s always that little bit of you thinking, ‘Never say never’.”
“All these actors saying they’ll never go back, always move forward, for me personally, I was like, ‘I wish you hadn’t’ but in another sense I was almost glad they did because then it’s done.”
Coronation Street airs Monday to Friday at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
