Steven Arnold hasn’t looked back since Coronation Street exit

Steven on stage with his Broken Strings co-star Linda Clark

AT 41, Steven Arnold doesn’t have that many miles on the clock — but he reckons he’s enjoyed a dream career so far and the year ahead is going to be even better.

Still best-known for playing Ashley Peacock, doomed butcher of Coronation Street, Warrington-born Steven made a seamless switch to the stage when his time was over on Britain’s most-famous street.

He also, of course, managed to fit in Dancing On Ice, where he famously slept in and missed a day’s choreography, and has appeared in everything from Radio 4 plays to Casualty.

But his seemingly-simple move from telly to theatre was just more evidence that Steven is one of the most-adaptable actors in the country.

“When I left Corrie, theatre was what I wanted to do, and it’s totally different,” enthuses Steven, who left the soap when Ashley perished in the tram crash during the soap’s 50th anniversary in 2010.

“I wanted to challenge myself and do as much stage work as possible, no matter what size the theatres were.

“For my latest tour, it’s as intimate as possible. It’s almost like the audience are in the room with you.

“Of course, some nights they’re laughing their heads off and other times, you could hear a pin drop!”

It’s this variety and unpredictable side of the stage that Steven loves, compared to the strict life of filming TV soaps.

He also, it seems, has a deep love for the very opposite of the gentle acting world — men in a boxing ring, knocking absolute lumps out of one another!

“I used to box myself as a kid,” he reveals. “I still love going to watch fights.

“In the end, I chose acting, which is just as well, because I could do acting better than boxing.

“Nowadays, I live in a quiet town, go for walks, chill out and get some dinner.”

Unless, that is, he gets to his beloved Old Trafford, where the noise is always enough to waken the dead, and even more so this season, with a certain Special One having moved into the managerial hot seat.

“It’s a great formula, and I think Jose Mourinho is just the perfect choice for Manchester United,” says Steven.

“When he joins a club, he brings big-name players with him, and that makes this an exciting time in football.”

Steven’s latest stage show, Broken Strings, sees him star alongside another former Corrie face, Linda Clark, known as Janet Dent in the show and who also played the Carrionite Witch in Doctor Who.

A tale of bereavement, how a family copes and a household struggling to put up with non-stop tension, it’s the kind of job he can get his teeth into.

“There will be tears along the way, but hopefully they’ll walk away with a real happy feeling,” says Steven, who’s been nominated for an Off West End award for Best Male Actor for his role.

“Broken Strings is full of comedy, it has all the elements you look for in a show — and at the end it is actually very heartwarming.

“The emotions certainly come out, the anger, grieving, upset, tears and funny stories going through it.”

Broken Strings is at London’s Tabard Theatre, until September 24.

Tickets are £17 and £15, or £12 for groups of eight or more.

For more information, visit www.tabardweb.co.uk/

Edinburgh Fringe chiller was Coronation Street villain Sean Ward’s biggest test yet