Former Coronation Street actress Tracy Brabin is believed to be considering a career in politics.
The soap star may stand in the by-election triggered by the death of MP Jo Cox, the BBC has reported.
Jo Cox (Yui Mok/PA)
The 55-year-old, who has also appeared in Emmerdale and EastEnders, is considering putting her name forward to become Labour’s candidate for Batley and Spen in West Yorkshire.
The seat is currently vacant after Jo was shot and stabbed to death on June 16.
The actress, who was born in Batley and had worked with the late MP, told the Yorkshire Post that she had not yet decided whether to stand, adding: “I need to get some soundings from the people in Batley and Spen.”
Tracy Brabin attended Jo Cox’s funeral (Owen Humphreys/PA)
However, she emphasised that she was keen to ensure “there’s no void in Batley and Spen” in the aftermath of Jo’s death.
A spokesman for Yorkshire and the Humber Labour Party said they had not been contacted by the TV star.
The selection process has not yet begun, but is expected to take place “in the next couple of months”, he confirmed. No date has yet been set for the by-election.
Tracy supported Jo in her campaign to save Batley Library. The pair also both attended local Heckmondwike Grammar School.
Tracy Brabin in Coronation Street (ITV)
The actress played Tricia Armstrong in Coronation Street in the 1990s. She later appeared as Roxy Drake in EastEnders, and played feisty Carole in Emmerdale.
She has also written for shows including Family Affairs, Tracy Beaker and Hollyoaks.
After Jo’s murder, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Ukip said they would not field a candidate in the by-election.
However, Liberty GB and the English Democrats will both contest the seat, as will Ukip member Waqas Ali Khan as an independent candidate.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here