Coronation Street star Brooke Vincent reckons that Helen Flanagan will be happier once she leaves the soap.
Helen is set to finish filming her role as Rosie Webster this week after 12 years on the cobbles, with her final scenes airing in early 2012.
Brooke, who plays Rosie's younger sister Sophie, told New magazine that she respects her choice to move on, saying: "Helen's most happy when she's with her boyfriend. She's much more relaxed and so much happier in herself. So if that's where she's happiest, that's where she needs to be."
The 19-year-old continued: "A lot of people forget that when you work on a soap, you kind of sign your life away. You're not allowed to change your hair, you can't go on holiday when you want.
"Helen's a bit of a control freak and likes to have her freedom, so I think it will help her. She said to me, 'When I leave, I've got nothing to do. And it's going to be great!'."
Brooke admitted she always knew co-star Sacha Parkinson, who plays on-screen girlfriend Sian Powers, wouldn't want a long stay in Weatherfield either.
"[Sacha] said ages ago, 'I'm only going to stay two years'. Then two years went by and she was like, 'I think I'm going to leave next December'," she recalled.
"It's kind of like school - everyone has to go their own separate ways eventually. It'd be a different story if they were being written out, but it's their own decision."