| Stella Price | |||||||||||||||
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| Coronation Street character | |||||||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Michelle Collins | ||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2011–2014 | ||||||||||||||
| First appearance | Episode 7625 16 June 2011 | ||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | Episode 8356 2 April 2014 | ||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Phil Collinson | ||||||||||||||
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Stella Price is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Michelle Collins. Collins' casting was announced in April 2011 and she began filming her scenes in May. The actress commuted from north London to Manchester for filming. Collins joined the show in order to have the financial security to ensure that her daughter could go to university. Collins, who is from Southern England and was previously well known for her role as Londoner, Cindy Beale on BBC's EastEnders, used a Northern accent for the role of Stella as Coronation Street is set in Manchester. She made her first on-screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 16 June 2011. Stella was introduced along with her boyfriend, Karl Munro (John Michie), and her daughter, Eva (Catherine Tyldesley). The following year, Stella’s mother, Gloria (Sue Johnston) was also introduced. In August 2013, it was announced that Collins would be leaving the soap and she filmed her final scenes on 19 February 2014. Stella departed on 2 April 2014.
Stella became the new bar manager of the show's public house, The Rovers Return Inn, following the departure of landlady, Liz McDonald (Beverley Callard). Stella is described as a "confident sort of woman" who is strong, feisty and funny. Collins stated that Stella is not as glamorous as Liz. Stella does not have much money and is quite "down-to-earth". Collins said that Stella is not a "big, bouncy barmaid" as she is more subtle. The actress opined that Stella is a "typical Coronation Street character". Stella arrives with a "dark secret" which is the reason why she has moved to Weatherfield. In June 2011, it was revealed that Stella is the biological mother of Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson) and revealed that she had a relationship with Les Battersby (Bruce Jones). Collins explained that Stella has decided that it is time to make herself known to Leanne. In September 2012, Stella's estranged mother Gloria Price (Sue Johnston) arrived and moved into The Rovers. In October 2012, it was announced that Stella would have a relationship with Jason Grimshaw (Ryan Thomas) who is 19 years younger than her. In 2013, The Rovers Return was set on fire by Stella's former husband, Karl Munro (John Michie), leaving Stella hospitalised and killing Sunita Alahan (Shobna Gulati) and local firefighter, Toni Griffiths (Tara Moran).