STAR ROMANCES: MET ON SET

Tricia Penrose and Mark Simpkin

Tricia Penrose, 33, who plays Gina Ward in Heartbeat, is married to I Want That House presenter Mark Simpkin, 30. The couple met when Mark interviewed her for This Morning. They live in Cheshire and had their first child, Jake, last month.

Tricia: 'Mark and I met in October 2001. We'd actually met briefly about 18 months before, at a fundraiser, but I'd just split up from someone so wasn't on the look-out. I remember thinking Mark looked nice, although I didn't know who he was. We met again when Mark interviewed me at the National TV Awards. He was doing showbiz reporting for This Morning, and part of his brief was to get a girl to walk down the red carpet with him, so he approached me.

When I saw Mark in his dinner jacket, I thought he looked gorgeous. He came over and asked if I remembered him - I normally never forget a face but I didn't have a clue who he was. He mentioned the fundraiser and it all clicked. After offering me a glass of champagne, he said I looked beautiful and asked if he could interview me. To camera, he talked about how he'd met a nice girl from Heartbeat who was going to be his date for the evening. I went along with it by walking up the red carpet with him and pretending to go off in a cab to the ceremony. I knew he was doing it all for work, but he was being quite flirty as well.

As he had to interview award winners at the party afterwards, we arranged to meet up for a drink and just stood in the corner talking all night. It was lovely - there was so much chemistry. But we lost each other later on, and in the end I went clubbing with the Coronation Street cast.

'I watched his This Morning piece the next day - we were both very smiley and friendly towards each other on camera, more so than I'd normally be. I got a text message from him after the piece aired and we arranged to meet for coffee. It sounds sad but we were immediately infatuated with each other. It was unbelievable.

I phoned my mum the next day and told her, "I've met the man of my dreams, I'm besotted." She said she'd heard it all before from me, but I said, "I'm telling you now I'm going to marry this fella." And 18 months later we did. It seemed so natural and right.

There was such chemistry between us it didn't matter what Mark did for a living, but if I hadn't met him while at work we wouldn't have such a unique record of our romance, courtesy of This Morning.'

Mark: 'I first met Tricia three or four years ago when she was performing in a fundraising concert. She was doing the same Lisa Stansfield performance she had done for Stars In Their Eyes. I thought, "I really fancy you", but nothing happened until I interviewed her at the awards.

When I walked into the pre-awards party, I saw this woman in a beautiful red dress, and thought "Wow", she turned round and it was Trish. I thought, "You're definitely my cup of tea" but couldn't really chat her up as I was on the job. I had to find a girl to walk down the red carpet with, so I cunningly decided to pick Trish.

Trish then had to go off to the awards and I was more behind the scenes, but I saw her again at the after-show party. I was there with a work colleague who noticed our on-camera chemistry and said to me, "That girl is beautiful - don't waste any time", which encouraged me to go and talk to her again. There was a chemical spark between us. We flirted, I might have touched her bum, but there was no snogging. It would have been wrong to try anything - we weren't at the right place and I was working, but she was at the back of my mind all night. We chatted and had a good time, but went our separate ways.

I texted Tricia the next day, and we ended up spending the day together. At 9pm, when she had to get the train home, I kissed her goodbye - but there were no tongues! That Saturday she invited me to a gig she was doing in Blackpool. I said I couldn't go but she called later to say she was missing me, so I spent pounds 75 on a taxi from my home in Manchester to get there.

We've still got the This Morning footage of when we got together - we'll occasionally put the video on and show people. It's quite funny to think there's us walking down the red carpet, pretending to be together, then 18 months later, we walked down the aisle. It sounds like a cliche but you know when you have met the right person - you completely do.'

Wendy Turner Webster

and Gary Webster

Wendy, 36, presenter of Pet Rescue and sister of Anthea, met her husband Gary, best known for his role as Ray Daley in Minder, when they played Robin Hood and Maid Marion in panto in Cambridge five years ago. The couple, who live in Richmond, now have two sons, Jack, four, and nine-month old Freddie.

Wendy: 'I was vaguely aware of who Gary was from Minder but hadn't given him another thought until we met in September 1998 for the panto photocall. I'd been on holiday in New York and the car that picked me up from the airport to take me to the shoot in Cambridge went via Gary's in Crystal Palace. When he got in the car he looked quite dishevelled - he'd been to some all-night party. Even so, I was immediately attracted to him and thought to myself, "This panto might not be so bad after all."

At the shoot, because we were playing lovers Robin and Marion, we had to gaze into each other's eyes. I knew we were going to go out together - there was this spark. Gary had a lust for life and was exciting to be with. I thought I'd met my soul mate. When I got back to work at Pet Rescue the next day, I told a friend I'd met the man I was going to marry. As I'd only just met him she said, "You must be mad!"

Two months later at the start of rehearsals, there was still that sparkle. A lot of the cast members were staying in the same hotel and Gary and I had neighbouring rooms, so after rehearsals we'd pop in and out of each other's rooms. On the third night of rehearsals, after we'd had a bit to drink, I invited him on to my balcony. Gary was teaching me how to do different accents then suddenly kissed me. I was chuffed. We kissed on set every day as Robin and Marion, but this was quite different.

Back then I felt I was more interested in Gary than he was in me. He had a lot of bravado and wouldn't say anything soppy, which annoyed me. We had quite a few fallings out over it. The kissing on stage became really hard, as I had to act being lovey-dovey with someone I wanted to spit venom at. One night we had a row and I threw his clothes at him down the corridor. The next day I rang my agent saying, "Do whatever you can, just get me out of this panto!" I hated it. But then we made up. It was intense as we were working and socialising together. I didn't want a quick fling - I was head over heels, and it was awful because I thought he didn't feel the same. We had to sing a soppy duet to each other, and when we'd fallen out, I'd want to look anywhere but into his eyes.

When we got back to London, Gary said he'd call but didn't. I left a message but he didn't return it. I thought I'd give it one last go and called him again, and we arranged to meet up. We went out for a drink and he said he'd missed me. It was the first admission of any kind of romantic stuff from him, so I knew I had him hooked.

After that we didn't look back. About three or four months later, we started talking about marriage and babies. By August Gary had moved in, by November we were engaged, and we got married the following March. We're soul mates. There was almost never any question about it. Living together and working together during the panto put a fast-forward on it. We have a lot to thank Robin Hood and Maid Marion for.'

Gary: 'When we met I'd been out on the lash until 6am. In the car, I asked if she'd mind if I slept, and when we arrived in Cambridge three hours later, I joked, "Right, that's the sleeping together out of the way - we're going to have a good time doing the panto now." I fancied her at first sight. She laughed at my jokes and had a dry sense of humour like mine. We were both single but the thought of a relationship didn't really cross my mind.

We had our first proper kiss about three days into rehearsal. We also had to kiss at the end of every show, but we couldn't really get down and dirty 'cos the kids in the audience would shout, "Ugh, that's disgusting, get back to the fighting!" If we'd had a row, she wouldn't kiss me at all. Some of the other cast knew but luckily it didn't get too schoolboyish with the teasing. If anyone did any of that kind of 'ooing' at us, we told them to cut it out straight away. I normally don't get involved in relationships at work as it can be a bit difficult, but I really liked Wendy. Also, her costume included this bustier - let's just say it made her look mighty fine! But I was reticent about what would happen afterwards.

In February, when we were back in London, in our own environment, Wendy got in touch again. We went for a meal and that's when it really kicked in that this was something big. Back in the real world, away from the panto, it went at a more natural pace rather than the intensity of working and socialising together. Even though we met on set, which isn't something I normally do, when you get an opportunity for something great in your life you have to grab it and I'm happy I - eventually - did.'

On The Job

More celeb couples who got it on after the cameras stopped rolling...

Alice Evans and Ioan Gruffudd

Alice, 32, met her Hornblower Ioan, 30 while filming 102 Dalmatians. But it wasn't love at first sight. 'He didn't really seem like boyfriend material,' she says. 'He's two years younger than me, and he seems a lot younger than that. And it takes me for ever to realise somebody might be attractive.' Is this woman blind?

Jennifer James and Lee Boardman

Jennifer, 25, and Lee 31, who played Corrie's Geena Gregory and Jez Quigley, met on set two years ago and married in October 2001. According to Jennifer, Lee noticed her when, 'He saw me bend over a table, saw my bum and went, "Who's that?" We didn't start seeing each other for a few months, but two hours after our first kiss, he said he could see himself marrying me.' The couple are now expecting a baby next spring.

Richard Bacon and Konnie Huq

The disgraced Blue Peter presenter Richard, 27, met Konnie, 28, on the kids' TV show they both presented. Rumours he won her round with his sticky- back plastic technique and the words, 'Here's one I made earlier' and 'Down Shep' are untrue.

Ralph Fiennes and Francesca Annis

The theatrical couple got together in 1996 when they played Hamlet and Gertrude opposite each other. The intensity of the roles saw Francesca, 59, and Ralph, 40, falling for each other and Ralph dramatically left his wife, ER actress Alex Kingston, and Francesca her husband of 25 years.

Ulrika Jonsson and Lance Gerrard Wright Ulrika, 36, was presenting ITV show Mr Right, in which she was supposed to help Lance, 35, find a partner, but the Swede nabbed him for herself after chemistry developed during filming and he curiously failed to find his perfect match. They married in August this year, in Sweden.

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