Helen Flanagan's 11-year-old daughter Matilda was left in tears after a passport mishap forced the cancellation of their planned mother-daughter holiday to Italy's Lake Como. The former Coronation Street star, who played Rosie Webster from 1990 to 2018, took to Instagram to share the heartbreaking update, revealing that despite her best efforts, she couldn't secure an emergency passport in time.
Emergency Passport Attempt Fails
In an emotional video posted on social media, Flanagan explained that she had traveled to Scotland in a last-ditch attempt to obtain an emergency passport for Matilda, but the trip proved futile. The actress, who appeared on I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! last year, had planned the getaway for some quality bonding time with her eldest child.
'So I went down to Scotland, I fly to Lake Como on Thursday, to try to get Matilda an emergency passport and we've not been able to get one,' she said, visibly disappointed. 'I just thought I'd try it because it says a week, but you never know.' Turning to her daughter in the video, she added, 'Mummy tried her best, didn't she? Mummy has tried. Love you.'
Passport Rules for Children
According to the UK Passport Office, adults can use the one-day premium service for replacements, subject to appointment availability, but this does not apply to children under 16. The fastest service for a child's new or replacement passport takes one week, requiring an appointment and a visit to a passport office, with no guarantees due to availability.
In the caption of her post, Flanagan wrote: 'My little girls cried on my shoulder, she was so looking forward to our trip.' The update drew sympathy from fans, who flooded the comments with support.
Life as a Single Mum
Flanagan, who shares three children – Matilda, Delilah, and Charlie – with ex-partner Scott Sinclair, has been open about the challenges of single motherhood. Earlier this week, she revealed she had taken her daughter to the doctor over skin discolouration from sun exposure, asking followers for foundation recommendations.
'So it's back to everything being manic, even though I'm really stressed with the kids, I'm so much better because I don't have time to think when I'm with the kids because all I get is 'Mum, mum, mum!' I don't have time to think about myself because I'm so busy thinking about the kids. And I love that,' she said on Instagram.
Potential Corrie Return
The actress has previously expressed interest in returning to Coronation Street, where she became a household name as the wild-child daughter of Sally Webster. 'Honestly if they want me to come back, I'd love to, but [show bosses] just haven't spoken to me. Everybody always asks me, 'When are you going back to Corrie? And it's like, 'They haven't called me'. If you want to call me, that's great. But they haven't,' she told the Liverpool Echo.
'I just really want to concentrate on my acting now. I feel really lucky. All my children are now at school so I want to concentrate on my career. I've been very lucky. I'm just a normal northern, down to earth mum. I've been very lucky to have opportunities in the career I've had,' she added.
