Former Coronation Street star Paula Lane joins tribute play for superfan Martyn Hett

Former Coronation Street star Paula Lane has joined the cast of Hope Theatre Company’s new play celebrating the life of Corrie superfan Martyn Hett.

Martyn was one of the 22 people who died after the explosion at Ariana Grande’s Manchester Arena concert in May last year, and the cast and crew of Coronation Street led the tributes to the fan, who had previously made headlines for getting a tattoo of Deidre Barlow on his leg.

The new play, #BeMoreMartyn: The Boy with the Deirdre Tattoo, celebrates Martyn’s life, with all of the words spoken onstage taken from interviews with eight of his closest friends. Manchester Evening News reports Paula will play the role of Rachel, one of Martyn’s school friends.

In the play, Rachel discusses her and Martyn’s first night out in the gay village, as well as Martyn coming out and his love of Coronation Street – making Paula, who has six years of experience on the soap from her role as Kylie Platt, the perfect casting choice.

“I am so thrilled to be joining Hope Theatre Company and to help continue Martyn’s legacy,” Paula said. “To speak Rachel’s words and share her memories is an absolute honour and I’m looking forward to sharing this important message.”

#BeMoreMartyn will premiere in Manchester next month, during the week of the first year anniversary of the terror attack, before travelling to Brighton and London too.

Following the arena attack last year, Manchester-based Corrie aired an on-screen tribute to the victims of the bombing, and later announced plans to dedicate a bench on the new set to Martyn and the other 21 people who lost their lives.

Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on ITV.

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