Coronation Street star Amanda Barrie opened up about her fear of being "booted off" the ITV soap if her sexuality was exposed during her long stint.

The 89-year-old actress played Alma Halliwell, the wife of factory owner Mike Baldwin (Johnny Briggs), in the ITV soap on and off from 1981 until her alter ego's death from cervical cancer in 2001.

Alma divorced her first husband Jim Sedgewick in 1982 after he ran off with a florist and got the café as part of the settlement. Alma then sold 40% of the business to Gail Platt - then Gail Tilsley - and the pair ran the café successfully until 1997 when Alma sold her share to Roy Cropper.

Alma then soon set her sights on Mike Baldwin and they were on and off for several years. It was in 1992 that he persuaded her that they should get married but she later divorced him following his one-night-stand with Julia Stone.

She announced that she knew she was bisexual while on the show, but refused to say anything as she worried that some cast members at the time would have "refused" to work alongside her.

In 2003, Amanda came out publicly and later married crime novelist Hilary Bonner in 2014.

Reflecting on her experience, Amanda shared with Best magazine: "It would never have been a big deal with me in any sort of a way, but I was convinced I would have got the sack from Coronation Street if I'd been exposed.