Former Coronation Street star traces roots back to Tullamore

By Rebekah O'Reilly

Former Coronation Street star Helen Flanagan has traced her ancestral roots back to Tullamore.

The 35-year-old actress, who starred in the soap as Rosie Webster from 2000 to 2012, and then again from 2017 to 2018, recently revealed that the Flanagan bloodline steams from the faithful county.

"Apparently the Flanagans come from Tullamore. My dad did the [genealogy] thing, so apparently that's where [the family] is from," she said.

Helen said that although her family left Ireland generations ago, she still feels 'a bit Irish'

"[They emigrated to England] years and years ago, but I feel like I am a bit Irish, I just feel like I am," she told EVOKE magazine.

"I was in Dublin at the weekend, I went to go and see a school friend and I just feel like really at home. I definitely feel, and I think I look Irish as well because I've got like the blue eyes, the very fair skin and I just kind of feel like the way that I am, I'm Irish."

The mum-of-three said that she would love to visit Tullamore and try to retrace her family history and track down her Flanagan relations.

"I do find it really interesting and I love the Irish as well. I kind of feel like the Irish are fun as well. I'm friendly and I feel like that's my vibe, like very northern [England], you know."

While Helen is best known for her appearances on Coronation Street, and in the jungle for I'm A Celeb, her most recent work includes her upcoming stage debut at the Octagon Theatre in Bolton as part of a 30th-anniversary revival of the play The Memory of Water. The show runs from January 29 to February 21, 2026.

She is playing the Wicked Queen in the pantomime production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at Liverpool's M&S Bank Arena for the Christmas 2025 season.

She has also recently written a book about her experiences with motherhood and mental health titled Head & Heart: Break-ups, Breakdowns and Being Rosie, which was published in October.