Corrie star Kimberly Hart-Simpson feared she’d bitten off more than she could chew with St Helens panto

Coronation Street star Kimberly Hart-Simpson might have trouble getting those glass slippers on – because as well as starring as Cinderella in panto this Easter she’s also training for the London Marathon.

Kimberly, 37, is combining lengthy stage stints with four-hour, 20-mile practice runs!

And even she admits:

“I didn’t think this through did I?”

Kimberly, who’s played Nicky Wheatley in the ITV soap opera on and off from 2020, is in panto at the Theatre Royal in St Helens until April 21 – just six days before the challenging race takes place in the capital.

So it means she can’t interrupt her gruelling training schedule while she does battle with the ugly sisters and romances the prince, in spite of the strenuous toll it’s taking.

“I’m lucky because my brain is such that if I have to do something, I do it. That run’s got to happen.  That show’s got to happen” says Kimberly.

“I tell myself ‘I can do this’. 

“There was a point where I did think I’d bitten off more than I could chew. But life must continue even when you’re taking on new challenges, and I actually think the fact that I’m constantly active is probably a good thing for my body.”

Kimberly began her marathon training in February after a trekking holiday in Thailand, and with only weeks to go, she’s now alternating the length of her runs from just two and a half miles to 20 miles.

A typical day can mean getting up at 5.30am to start pounding the pavements at 6am and running for four hours until just before 10am.

Once she’s cooled down, it’s straight to the theatre – picking a fellow cast member up on the way – before getting ready and heading on stage.

“When I get back home, it’s off to the gym but not to do weights, it’s to get in that ice bath and get my body into recovery.

“It’s good that you don’t need to do the full marathon until the day itself and your training, if you’ve done it properly, should take you that final 6.2 miles, along with the atmosphere of the crowds … I’m relying on them to carry me through.”

And she grins:

“If I can get through this, training for a marathon and doing panto at the same time, then as hard as it is, it will be easier on the day.

“That’s the theory anyway.

“But running is also therapeutic for me. I don’t want to be too deep, but there’s a lot going on in my world. I’m trying to figure out who I am as a person and I have honest conversations with myself on the road: you find out beautiful parts of yourself, and ugly parts of yourself that you don’t like. It’s quite confronting.

“Physically though, I am fitter than I have ever been in my life. I’m in the best shape certainly.”

Rhyl-born Kimberly, who earlier this year took part in Channel 4’s Celebrity Hunted, ran the London Half Marathon in October last year for Dr Kershaw’s Hospice, which cares for people with life limiting illnesses in the Oldham area.

This time she’s raising funds for the British Heart Foundation, an organisation close to her own heart.

Already an ambassador for the BHF – and their first retail ambassador thanks to her fashion and business background – several years ago Kimberly’s sister Emma was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a condition where the walls of the heart chambers become stretched, thickened or stiff. 

“Obviously I became involved with the British Heart Foundation for other reasons, but it’s so much more personal now and means more knowing that any money I raise will help my sister and other people like her to live longer lives.”

Kimberly is hoping to raise £2,000:

“That seems like a good amount and is what I got for the Half Marathon. I’m about half way now so I’ll be ramping up the social media over the next few weeks to remind all those who’ve promised to donate to actually do it,” she smiles.

A popular character in Coronation Street, Kimberly hasn’t ruled out a return to the cobbles: “Well I’m not dead,” she laughs. “It was supposed to be four months but it ended up being four years in Corrie on and off which is a privilege, and I had such a positive experience.”

But she adds: “If that was it, then I’m grateful for the journey, but there are other things I’m committed to this year that I can’t talk about yet.

“There are personal projects that I’ve had in my brain that are finally coming to fruition – and which I’m extremely proud of.”

Back to the marathon and Kimberly is looking forward to completing the challenge: “It will be a great achievement,” she grins. “But then afterwards, maybe I need to learn not to keep saying yes to everything!

“I will keep running.  I’d never done it before the Half Marathon, but it’s something I will keep in my life, like I say it’s therapeutic.

“Another 26 miles though? I’m not sure. I might stick to 10K Park Runs in future.”

You can support Kimberly’s campaign here.

Find out more about Cinderella on the St Helens Theatre Royal website.

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