7 July 2005
CORONATION ST WAS KILLING MY MARRIAGE..
Ex-Boyzone star Keith Duffy tells of heartache working on TV's top soap THAT'S WHY
I HAD TO LEAVE, SAYS HUNKY TV CIARAN
By Emma Bussey
WITH his hunky good looks and Irish charm, Keith Duffy seemed to have found The
Street paved with gold when he first stepped out on Corrie's famous cobbles.
He'd quit pop band Boyzone yet suddenly the budding actor had won a whole new
army of fans thanks to his portrayal of beefcake barman Ciaran McCarthy in Britain's No.1 soap.
But now Keith has revealed for the first time how his dream career move turned
into a living NIGHTMARE that almost wrecked his marriage and destroyed his young family.
Opening his heart to The People in an exclusive interview, he confessed: "Corrie
professionally gave me some of the best years of my life - but my personal life lay in tatters."
The star who plans to walk away in September after three years of fame and fortune
on the soap, told how he was HEARTBROKEN at being away from wife Lisa because of filming.
He struggled with the TORMENT of seeing his nine-year-old son Jordan break down
and cry at the end of his brief visits home to Dublin.
And he felt an emotional WRENCH at being apart from his five-year-old daughter
Mia, who is autistic.
Explaining the gruelling schedule that took such a devastating toll on his family,
Keith, 32, said: "I was in Manchester during the week and flying home at the weekends.
"Inevitably it killed us and that is why I have jacked it in.
"Lisa is my morning, afternoon and evening and I couldn't see her go through
us being apart any 0more. She was finding it difficult and struggling as she was alone all week."
He added: "Even when I did come home I was like a wet blanket. I was reading
my lines or tired or just gearing up for the next week.
"It just wasn't fair. Lisa felt like a single mother. She didn't have me to take
her out, escort her to functions or to be there to guide the children. There was no man of the house. She is strong and independent
but it was getting too much. It broke my heart to see how much my family missed me."
Ironically, Keith signed on for just three episodes, expecting his stint in the
soap to be a short one. But the millions of Corrie fans took him to their hearts and he kept being offered contract renewals.
He accepted them all... blind at first to the impact it was having, especially
on Lisa.
Though they wed seven years ago, the pair began dating when he was 17. Keith
said Lisa has always been the light of his life, adding: "I have never been single really because Lisa has always been there.
"I am not like my character Ciaran, as I was insecure if I was alone. I have
never been confident, single and rich like my on-screen character."
He added: "Lisa and I got married at the end of Boyzone. It wasn't a conscious
decision for us to finally get married.
"It just felt right. It has been a long time. We have had our problems and we
have had our break-ups and we have got back together.
"Thank God we got through it all - the madness of a boyband and the madness of
being in a soap - so that today we are going strong. Like any relationship, we have had our ups and downs.
"We would shout and scream and get things off our chest and spend time apart,
sometimes days or even weeks.
"When we got back together we would see that neither of us was perfect and that
we all make mistakes.
"And we always decided that we had a lot more going for us together than apart."
He added: "People say that kids don't notice it when parents split up, but they do. They may feel neglected.
"Also, I have just lost a close friend and his wife in a car crash in Spain.
They left two kids behind, a nine- year-old girl and one-year-old. It made me realise that we are only here for a short time
and you have to make the best of time. The little battles along the way can be resolved."
Keith said he tries to be the best father he possibly can. "I turned down a 12-month
contract on Corrie because, apart from the impact on Lisa, it also got to the stage where my son and daughter were growing
up and I wasn't there for them.
"Jordan is nearly 10 now and was getting really upset with me away so much. He
would cry and say I loved Manchester more than I loved him which was torturing me.
"I am such a young father that we are more like pals now. He even comes to the
pub with me and knows all the men in there.
"We won't be having any more children because Mia is a lot of work being autistic.
I have done a great deal of work to help sufferers and their parents.
"Mia is five, but she wasn't able to understand it as much as Jordan. If someone
said 'Where's Daddy?' she would normally say 'He's gone to the shops'."
Keith added: "I have just started fishing so I can spend more time with Jordan.
I am trying to find ways of spending quality time with my son.
"We live in a gorgeous house out in the countryside and there is nothing better
than coming home and spending time in the garden.
"We have barbecues and play pool together or I take Lisa out or we sit out together
under the heaters well into the early hours."
For their wedding anniversary last month, Keith and Lisa went with 20 friends
to a U2 concert, followed by dinner at a restaurant in Dublin.
Keith said: "I am still a romantic, I have to say. I like to surprise Lisa and
do special things. This year on her birthday I got together with a poet and we wrote a poem together about my love for Lisa.
"I got it written out in calligraphy and it went into her birthday card.
"I think Irish guys are sincere, romantically. Women need to be made to feel
good and we maybe want to move the relationship on. It's not all about getting women into bed."
As revealed in The People last week, Keith's character Ciaran is set for a spectacular
punch-up this week with Mr Nasty Charlie Stubbs (Bill Ward).
But as viewers anticipate the brawl, Keith is focused on new acting projects.
He said: "I am now reading loads of new scripts and have a movie in the pipeline
and a drama called The Clinic which is quite racy.
"My career was over after Boyzone and I didn't know what I wanted to do.
It was a tough time for me because I wasn't the best singer and I didn't want
to go solo like the other guys.
"At the end of the day I had a fantastic run in Corrie and they gave me a whole
new career.
"I have no drama experience but I had it in me. Corrie is such hard work and
you either sink or swim.
"I always manage to throw myself in at the deep end in the things that I do,
but get myself to the shore at the end.
"For now though I am heading off to Spain with Lisa and the kids for a long holiday
so we can at last spend proper time together.
"Then I start filming my first movie which will all be done in Ireland.
"That's the main thing as I need to come home and sleep in my own bed each night
and wake up with Lisa each day. That is what I am looking to."
