ACTRESS Michelle Keegan has pulled out of a major new ITV drama just weeks before it was due to start filming.
The ex-Coronation Street star, 39, left ITV bosses baffled after she was set to play the lead character in a big budget production focussing on a working class barrister.
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Sources said it was “a huge blow” as she had committed to the drama.
Bosses have drafted in former Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker, 44, to take on the role.
The series has been penned by Sherlock writer Steve Thompson and will begin filming in November.
But Michelle decided not to go ahead with it and changed her mind before signing her contract, saying she wanted to focus on family life.
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The Stockport-born star and her hubby, DJ Mark Wright, 39, welcomed daughter Palma last year.
Fans can still see Michelle in upcoming ITV crime thriller The Blame, alongside Douglas Booth.
And she has been filming a second drama for Netflix written by novelist Harlan Coben, following the success of 2024 thriller Fool Me Once.
A source said: “Michelle was really keen to take on the meaty role, but the heavy filming schedule would take her away from daughter Palma for too long.
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“The hours were quite intense and the project was starting straight after her Netflix drama The Woods and she just couldn’t commit.
“She is dedicated to her acting career, but like all working mums has to prioritise being there for her family, juggling work, parenting and being present for Palma.”
Mark and Michelle, who married in 2015, live in a £3.5million mansion near his family in Essex.
He has a weekly radio show on Heart FM with popstar pal Olly Murs, and runs several businesses.
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In June the Sun told how Michelle raked in £5.4million last year — despite time off to become a mum.
She landed a £1.4million pay rise, bumped up by cash from Fool Me Once, show accounts for her company Rosia Promotions.
Michelle first made it big in 2008 as Coronation Street’s Tina McIntyre, and starred in BBC military drama Our Girl from 2016 to 2020.
In 2017 she played the wife of 1966 World Cup winner Bobby Moore (Lorne MacFadyen) in ITV’s three-part drama Tina & Bobby.
Her BBC series Ten Pound Poms was axed after two series last year, and Sky comedy Brassic, in which she played Erin Croft, has ended.
Michelle said in a recent interview: “Coming back to work after having a baby is quite daunting.
“But the production were so supportive and I was so looked after and it was like working with family.”
Doting dad Mark recently shared a video of Palma walking.
He wrote: “They tell you nothing prepares you for loving your daughter this much…but they never met her mum.”
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Discussing parenthood, Mark added: “It’s the biggest achievement of my life, it’s all I think about.
“Obviously hats go off to my wife, she is a superhero for bringing this baby into the world.”