User:Bluebolt94/Kirsty Soames

Kirsty Soames is a fictional character from the ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Natalie Gumede. Kirsty made her first on screen appearance on 7 September 2011. Kirsty was introduced as a love interest for Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall).

Casting
While interviewed on This Morning series producer Phil Collinson said that Kirsty's arrival marked the start of a "big storyline" for Tyrone. He added that Tyrone's involvement with Kirty would not be a "smooth ride". Casting for Kirsty was announced on July 8, 2011 with Natalie Gumede being cast in the part. On receiving the role Gumede said "from the moment I read the script I knew I was going to love playing Kirsty and I can't wait to see how the story unfolds" before adding "This is a dream role for me and I'm looking forward to creating a huge storm in Weatherfield". Gumede filmed her first scenes in early July.

Storylines
Tommy Duckworth pays Kirsty to speak to his friend, Tyrone at a bar. She later swaps numbers with Tyrone and agrees to see him again. Tommy soon tells Tyrone that she was paid to speak to him but she confesses her genuine interest and agrees to meet up with Tyrone again. She soon makes enemies with Tyrone's other lodger Tina McIntyre after Tina parks Rita Sullivan's car awkwardly and boxes Kirsty's car in. Tina later accuses Kirsty of scratching Rita's car in spite of her. However, Kirsty denies the vandalism and reveals to Tina that she is a police officer. Kirsty becomes possessive of Tyrone and continues to cause problems for Tina, including having her stopped by a security guard at a shopping centre. She accidentally has Rita stopped for speeding, but she later sorts the situation out. When Tyrone overhears Kirsty admitting to setting Tina up, he breaks up with her and ask her to leave. Kirsty tries to see Tyrone, but Tina stops her. She later follows Tina and Tyrone in her police car. When Tina brakes suddenly for a traffic light, Kirsty drives into the back of her. She is taken to the hospital where she is told she is pregnant. Tyrone talks things through with Kirsty and decides to give her a second chance. Tina does not accept this and tells Kirsty she has reported her for harassment, but she dropped the case for Tyrone, much to his and Kirsty's delight. However, she tells Kirsty that this changes nothing and she does not like her. Tommy tells Tyrone that he witnessed Kirsty meeting up with another man and Tyrone confronts Kirsty. She reveals that she met up with her cousin to get him a car for Valentine's Day. Tyrone apologises, but Kirsty leaves. The following day, Tyrone goes to the station and tries to apologise to Kirsty. He then proposes and she accepts. Kirsty tells Tommy that she and Tyrone are a family and no one will ever come between them. Tommy tells Tyrone that Kirsty threatened him, but Tyrone throws Tommy out.

When Tyrone manages to persuade Kirsty into going to the town hall and seeing what Tommy's mysterious father Terry Duckworth (Nigel Pivaro), they are caught by Councillor Pete and Terry. Then, Kirsty and Tyrone inform Terry that the police have arrested and charged Councillor Pete for accepting bribes. But after doing this with Tyrone, Kirsty gets the sack and loses her job as a police officer. When she get home, she roars at Tyrone and hits him with a large spoon. The next day, Tyrone has a cut on his lip and tells everybody that some boxes fell on top of him. Feeling guilty, Kirsty then returns home after hearing Tyrone's cover-up story.

Reception
For her portrayal of Kirsty, Gumede won Best Newcomer at the 2012 British Soap Awards.