Coronation Street star Melanie Hill revealed she was secretly addicted to prescription painkiller drugs while filming Waterloo Road.
The actress became addicted to Co-codamol painkillers while starring in the BBC drama as she recovered from a hip replacement to treat her osteoarthritis.
Melanie, 53, told the Daily Mirror: “I needed a stick, but I had to get rid of it when I was shooting scenes. I carried on for two years because I didn’t want to take time out.”
She admitted that it took three months to wean herself off the drug, which contains the addictive opiate codeine.
Melanie as Maggie Budgen in Waterloo Road (Mark Mainz/BBC/Shed Productions)
“I was on the maximum dose of Co-codamol painkillers and, after two years, it was hard getting off them,” she told Woman magazine. “It took me three months to get completely weaned off them.”
Melanie is no longer on the drugs and is happy to have begun a new role in Coronation Street as Roy Cropper’s love interest Cathy Matthews.
Melanie enjoys an ice cream in Corrie with new love interest Roy Cropper (ITV)
She said: “When I got a call from my agent asking if I would like to be interviewed for Coronation Street I’ve never been as happy in my life because it’s been a life-long ambition.
“I’ve grown up with it and I’ve got to a point in my life where I am happy to go into a long-running drama. Staying for a long time would be ideal for me.”
