OK! Magazine UK – 05 August 2019

WWW.OK.CO.UK 29

KYM’SCOLUMN

GETTY IMAGES, INSTAGRAM, PA

TACKLINGONLINEROMANCEFRAUDS

OUTWITHTHE

MUMGUILT

S

o-called romance

frauds are on the

rise, and I’m delighted

to be involved in a new

week-long series for

BBC Daytime called

For Love Or Money.

I’m presenting it with

the lovely BBC reporter

Ashley John- Baptiste

[right] and we’re

setting out to expose

the criminals behind

romance frauds. I felt

quite heartbroken

for the victims we

spoke to. And as for

the criminals... well,

let’s just say I’m no shrinking violet when it

comes to confrontations. There are always

two people who are victims in these cases,

including the

people whose

identity has been

stolen and used

to extort money

from someone

else. One of the

reasons I wanted

to get involved is

because I’ve had

people pretending

to be me in the

past, trying to

trick others. It was

great being given

the chance to

co-present a show

like this but I won’t

be giving up acting when I leave Corrie this

year. In fact I’m very much pursuing other

acting roles.

C

atherine Tyldesley [below], who used

to be on Corrie with me, refused to

feel any ‘mum guilt’ last week during

a short break with her husband Tom

while their son Alfie was staying with his

grandparents. I totally agree with her.

You can’t just be a parent all the time.

It doesn’t work that way. I miss Polly if I

go away for a few days, but I don’t feel

guilty. In fact, I feel I’m a better parent if

I’ve had some time to myself. I guess it’s

a bit different for me because Polly’s dad

Jamie [Lomas] and I are divorced and

it’s important

that he

spends time

with her. I

know not

everyone gets

the chance

to have a

break but

even enjoying

some space

to yourself for

an hour or so

is beneficial,

otherwise

you’re

stressed out

constantly.

‘YOUCAN’TBEA

PARENTALLTHETIME’

P

olly and I had a great time

at Disneyland Paris with

my son David [far right]

and my lovely parents. It

was a special treat to celebrate

my mum and dad’s wedding

anniversary – 54 years, isn’t

that amazing?!

It was absolutely boiling hot

so I had to keep a close eye

on Polly and make sure she

wasn’t getting burnt, but she

and David still had loads of fun

going on the rides. They went

on Space Mountain (twice), Big

Thunder Mountain, The Tower

Of Terror and The Rock ’n’ Roller coaster.

I didn’t join them because I’m a scaredy

cat but we watched The Lion King parade

together and Polly met Mickey Mouse and

Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty.

That evening we

had dinner with

my parents at the

Disneyland Hotel

where we were

staying, and we

met more Disney

characters [above

left and above

right]. It was really

good fun.

Just before

our trip, Polly

performed in a

showcase with

the First Take School of Acting – her dad’s

acting school that she goes to. All the

students were absolutely superb and anyone

who’s interested should definitely get their

kids involved. It’s been great for Polly’s

confidence and she’s definitely going to end

up on the stage. She even performed with

her cousin Elkie.

Poor Rico, our one-year-old, long-haired

chihuahua [left], was under the weather last

week. We’d taken him to the vets to be

neutered and when we got him home again

he wouldn’t eat or drink anything, or go for

a wee. When we took him back to the vet

they said he had an infection and gave him

antibiotics. He had to wear one of those

funny cones on his head to stop him licking

his stitches and he didn’t have a clue how to

walk in it! I felt so awful for him but thankfully

he was right as rain in a few days. Bless him!

T

OK!

f A ti h d d’

OURCOLUMNISTTALKSABOUTHERRECENTVISIT

TODISNEYLANDPARISSTAMPINGOUT‘MUMGUILT’

ANDTACKLINGONLINE‘ROMANCEFRAUD’