HE SHOT to fame as Coronation Street stripper Sam Kingston. Now actor Scott Wright is running acting classes — and he’s convinced he's going to find a star. We spoke to him.

FROM the cobbles of Weatherfield to the moors of Darwen — actor Scott Wright is passing on pearls of acting know-how to Lancashire’s wannabe stars.

Best known for his role as stripping mechanic Sam Kingston in Coronation Street, Scott has scaled down his own acting work and is instead working on turning Lancashire's young actors into stars.

“I wanted to bring my acting academy to smaller areas to help people who wanted to get into the industry but couldn’t travel to Manchester or Leeds where all the acting schools are,” said Scott, 33.

“Now the kids in Darwen can have the same, if not better, coaching as you’d get in Manchester.

"Darwen was a natural choice because I’ve spent a lot of time doing charity work there and I’ve even turned the Christmas lights on."

Now he has an acting academy based at Darwen Vale High School.

“I love Darwen and it was a good choice because I’ve found lots of talent — at least half the kids in my class could have a future in acting.”

Scott, who also runs classes for 11 to 16-year-olds in acting for the camera in Chesterfield and his home town of Glossop, is confident he can help East Lancashire’s budding young TV stars get a foot up the ladder.

“Over the summer two of the kids got auditions for the Steve Coogan drama Sunshine and were screen-tested for the lead in that,” said Scott.

“One girl, Sophie, even got a part in The Royal, which she filmed over the summer.

“The school starts again in September and I’m looking for some new faces.”

Scott shot to fame for his role as sexy mechanic Sam Kingston in Coronation Street and overnight he became a household name.

In 2002 he left the street and went on to work on Crossroads and Doctors.

“I started out really late aged about 19, which made getting a break more difficult,” he said.

“I was going to acting night classes and working for my dad as an engineer, but it was soul destroying.

“Just as I decided to give up acting as a dream and had resigned myself to being an amateur actor I got spotted and got the role in Corrie.

“That was the turning point for me. It changed my life and made me the person I am today.

"After I left the soap I was named Rear of the Year and made a load of money touring around nightclubs doing personal appearances.

"Then I got to do panto in Belfast and went onto Crossroads and Doctors.”

And despite being out of the soap for six years he still gets recognised every day.

“Coronation Street never leaves you. People still say to me: ‘It’s Sam the stripper!

"You alright mate?’ and last night I was out walking when some girls shouted at me ‘Take your clothes off!’ "But I’m a happily married man now.”

Scott met his wife Kate, a personal trainer, in Manchester two-and-a-half years ago and they married last November.

“As soon as I met Kate I knew she was the one,” said Scott.

“She was the only person who found my jokes remotely funny!

“I took her to the top of the Eiffel tower to propose but the lift broke so I asked her to marry me halfway up.”

The star-studded wedding was even covered by OK Magazine.

“It was a lovely wedding and married life is great,” said Scott.

Scott’s most recent project involved turning himself into a bodybuilder in just 12 weeks for a documentary filmed by his own production company.

With the help of Ricky Hatton’s trainer Kerry Kayes in just three short months Scott turned his 14st body, bloated from a love of junk food, into a muscle-bound 12st frame, lowering his body fat percentage from 25 per cent to 6 per cent and shaving seven inches from his waist.

“I just thought ‘I’m getting fat, I don’t want to be fat. What can I do about it?’ I’ve always been an all or nothing man.

"I’d put on 2st in six weeks and I wanted to do something.

"I just gave my life to it. I gave up drinking alcohol and eating chocolate and bread in one day.

“I’d wake up at 6am to train. I’d eat 10 egg whites with two yolks, two pints of water and some oats.

"Then I’d go to the gym and drink a protein shake afterwards.

"Three times a day I’d eat 200g chicken, broccoli and rice, and have a protein drink before bed. I gave everything to it.”

And at the end of the three months Scott even displayed his new physique at a North West body building show.

But now his focus is 100 per cent on helping the youngsters of today become TV stars of tomorrow.

“If people are interested they should visit my website, www.screenacademy.co.uk, and fill in the application form and I promise I’ll ring each and every one of them back personally to talk them through the course.”