Alison King before she was famous
Alison King is an English actress who has had major television roles such as Carla Connor in Coronation Street and Lynda Block in the Sky One drama series Dream Team.
But before she rose to prominence she had a pretty normal upbringing – the star was born Alison Rosamund King on 3 March 1973 at Leicester Royal Infirmary to parents Alex and June King, who were both nurses at the hospital.
Alison was the couple’s fourth child and their third daughter and grew up at the family home on Ratby Lane, Markfield in Leicestershire.
As a little girl she attended Markfield Mercenfield Primary School before going to South Charnwood High School, where she first started to enjoy acting.
Alison continued to hone her acting ability at Groby Community College where one of the teachers offered drama and dance classes to students who wished to attend in their free time.
At the age of 18 she moved to Newquay in Cornwall and worked at Fat Willys Surf Shack before enrolling at the North Cheshire Theatre School at the age of 22.
Alison King’s early career
Whilst training at the school she won her first television role as Helen, a crimper at a hair salon, in two episodes of Brookside.
Before she finished her three-year diploma at the school, Alison was lucky enough to get her first major role as Lynda Block in Sky One’s Dream Team.
Alison King's rise to fame
Alison played the part of Lynda on the Sky One series for three years before the character went to prison, before reprising the role some years later.
During her time away from Dream Team she appeared in the American feature film Shanghai Knights alongside actors Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson, took a part in BBC comedy-drama Help, and appeared in films Submerged and Final Contract: Death on Delivery.
She also had a guest appearance in the last episode of Mile High as the wife of Captain Nigel Crocker and appeared in an episode of Coupling.
Alison also had prominent roles in independent films Save Angel Hope (2006) and Back in Business (2007).
Alison King in Coronation Street
The actress was cast as Carla Connor in the ITV soap and first appeared on 1 December 2006.
She had previously briefly appeared on the show in one episode in 2004 as a different character, Mrs Fanshaw.
In 2009 she left the series to go on maternity leave but in 2010 returned for her involvement in the storyline surrounding the death of character Tony Gordon.
In 2015 Alison announced she would be taking a long break from Coronation Street to work on other projects but in 2016 it was confirmed she would be leaving the soap permanently.
She also may be recognised for her recurring appearances in the television adverts for washing powder Daz.
Alison King’s personal life
Alison had a five-year relationship with former Coronation Street actor Philip Middlemiss, who played the part of Des Barnes.
She later became engaged to actor Jim Alexander in 2006 who she worked with on TV show Dream Team and the Daz adverts. They split in early 2007 and Alison briefly dated soap actor Louis Emerick after.
Alison dated Corrie sound technician Adam Huckett from April 2007 and gave birth to their daughter Daisy Mae on 11 February 2009. The couple got engaged in September 2011 but in October 2012 it emerged they had split.
The actress hit the headlines in 2014 when it was reported she asked ITV bosses for extra security as she had a female stalker.
The lady had been ordered to stay away but was found outside Alison’s house and the star was approached by her in public at the Southport Flower Show.
Alison King awards
The actress won Best Actress for her role in Coronation Street at the British Soap Awards in 2012, and Best Performance in a Continuing Drama for Coronation Street at the Royal Television Society North West Awards in 2014.
She also triumphed at the TV Choice Awards in 2015 where she won Best Soap Actress for her work in Corrie, and she won Best Actress at the Inside Soap Awards, again for Coronation Street, in 2015.