Sarah, 33, made her debut on ITV’s Coronation Street as feisty Joni Preston and viewers were quick to make their opinions heard.

“Just caught up with #corrie sincere thanks to Sarah Harding, she’s just reminded me I need wood treatment for my garden bench #dire,” one user cattily wrote.

“Sarah Harding was awful, that was the worst acting I’ve ever seen! #corrie,” another added.

One tweeted simply blasted: “That Sarah Harding can’t act for sh*t! #corrie [sic].”

Former Girls Aloud singer Sarah’s character arrived in Weatherfield with a bang and quickly ended up in a scrap with soap villain Tracy Barlow.

While a lot of viewers were certainly less than impressed with Sarah’s acting, it seems the producers loved her as her contract has been extended.

She told The Sun: “They’ve given me more episodes to film after my music. I don’t know about doing it full-time. You get about seven days to learn your lines. Sometimes you have to learn them on the spot.

“It’s not like when I’ve done films and you learn the script well in advance. I’m nervous because people are going to expect high standards.”

But it’s not all bad news for Sarah, as plenty of fans praised her performance.

One wrote: “I just caught up on Corrie and you were amazing. I hope they give you a permanent role! I am so proud of you [sic].”

What did you think of Sarah on the Cobbles? Let us know on Facebook and Twitter now.

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