Owners of a Highland farm welcomed their first celebrity visitor this week as former Coronation Street star Helen Flanagan enjoyed a ‘bucket list’ trip to the north.
The actress and model enjoyed some quality ‘bonding’ time with her daughter Delilah as they toured Farm Ness.
The fun-filled day out formed part of their whirlwind trip to Inverness, which included a much-anticipated trip to Loch Ness.
The actress has shared highlights of her trip on social media, as the mother-daughter duo soak up the easter holidays.
Coronation Street star visits Highland Farm
Greeted by owner Joanna MacGregor and her partner Donald Fraser, the duo got down to work.
A visit to the lambing shed proved fruitful, with the pair catching the birth of the farm’s latest addition before helping to feed a lamb each.
Helen also enjoyed being one of the first to get up close to the farm’s Highland Cow Iona.
The owners of Farm Ness are preparing to launch a new summer tour, giving visitors the chance to get up close with their cattle.
Speaking to The Press and Journal about her visit, 37-year-old Joanna said it was ‘surreal’ to meet Helen, who played Rosie Webster for 12 years.
She said: “It was surreal.
“When I was a child, there were only four channels on the TV, so Coronation Street was a really big part of our life back then, but you don’t have that anymore.
“Now, you have YouTube and hundreds of TV channels. Coronation Street was a massive deal, so it was a massive deal seeing her.
“I felt it was just like meeting Rosie off Coronation Street. She was exactly like you would imagine, a very nice person.”
‘It was like we were old friends’
Joanna said Helen’s arrival was the talk of the farm, with people queuing up to grab a selfie with the star.
“She was so down to earth, it was like we were old friends,” Joanna added.
“She just chatted away and wasn’t pretentious or uppity at all, just a very down-to-earth person.
“Everyone knows who she is, but she doesn’t really see herself like that, I don’t think. Everybody was queuing up to get a picture with her. She was so nice to everybody, just really happy to do it.”
As a fan of the TV soap, Joanna was delighted to get a rare insight into filming on the cobbles.
The farm owner said: “Rosie was always sent up to her room by Sally. She’s shouted “Go to your room”, so I asked what was up there (at the top of the stairs) and she said there was just a wall, so when she got up the stairs, there was nothing.
“I used to shout that at the TV. There is nothing there because you never saw Rosie’s room. She said it would be the end of the scene, and she would just run up the stairs.”
The family-run business opened to the public in 2020, following the launch of a pop-up.
A year later, the proud owners opened a farm shop followed by a play area.
In 2021, they were featured on BBC’s This Farming Life, showcasing the construction and launch of their Highland business.
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