Coronation Street (ITV, 7.30pm)

SUNDERLAND'S Melanie Hill says she isn't one to worry about the past, but admits she's still kicking herself over one mistake.

"It was when my agent said, 'I've got an interview for a new series set in an office and it's going to be improvised a bit'," sayss the 53-year-old.

"I went, 'Oh, I don't like the sound of that' and didn't go for my interview."

The show turned out to be The Office, which went on to win a horde of awards and make stars of Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant and Martin Freeman, following its launch in 2001. "It's like one of those kill me now moments," laughs Hill.

"I did an episode of Merlin and had a bloody arthritic hip, and risked getting on a horse. It paid off, because I got the job."

One hip replacement later and she's fit enough to go gardening and play Cathy, who strikes up a friendship with fellow allotment owner Roy Cropper, on Coronation Street.

Hill's worked on stage and screen for 30 years, and was recently seen in ITV's Cilla, but admits the screen test for Corrie was "probably the most nervous I've been, because it's so iconic".

"My daughters love it, but my mother's the best, she's chuffed to bits," says Hill, who's mum to Lorna, 27, and Molly, 23, from her marriage to the actor Sean Bean, which ended in 1997.

The actress is aware there's going to be a lot of interest in Cathy, given she's the first woman Roy shows any sort of interest in since the death of his partner Hayley, played by Julie Hesmondhalgh, in January last year.

"She was so well loved and the fans felt it so much, which is why I'm gradually introduced, and as a friend," explains the actress.

"I think there's going to be a few problems being accepted by people. I've had a few names mentioned where there will be barneys."

The actress is remaining tight-lipped as to whether she can predict romance between the pair.

"Who knows, they're both single but it depends on a lot of things. Cathy's very shy herself and it's an interesting character, because there's more to her than meets the eye. You think you've got her down but then she doesn't want Roy to go back to her house and see where she lives – that's going to become interesting."

As soon as she was cast, Hill found herself a place in Manchester. "It's important to me to be comfortable with where I am. I don't want to commute up and down and it's great to have that space," says Hill, who has lived in the south since studying at Rada.

Hill's preparing herself for being approached on an even greater scale when she makes her Corrie debut.

"It's getting recognised when you're having a bad day – you feel rubbish and someone's chasing you – that isn't very nice," she admits.

"But then, I don't really go out much. I get a curry, watch a bit of football and go to the pub. I'm quite simple and keep myself to myself."

Safe House (ITV, 9pm)

IF you needed to escape your stressful life in the big city, then the Lake District might seem like the perfect place to do it.

Salford-born actor Christopher Eccleston, who used to holiday as a child in Arnside, plays former police officer Robert, who was injured in the line of duty while trying to protect a witness, Susan Reynolds. He and wife Katy (Marsha Thomason) start a new life running a guest house in the Lake District, but ex-colleague DCI Mark Maxwell (Paterson Joseph) thinks the couple's secluded property would also make a perfect safe house. They are asked to take in the Blackwell family after dad David (Jason Merrells) was hospitalised in an unexplained assault, but Robert soon finds he needs his police skills again.

Viv Hardwick