The couple broke up after five years together at the start of 2024 — here we take a look at Tisha’s life, career and relationship with her former co-star.
1
Who is Tisha Merry?
Tisha is a 31-year-old English actor who has appeared in a number of TV shows, including 32 Brinkburn Street (2011) and Princess Mirror-Belle (2022).
She is from Leyland, Northampton and attended Runshaw College in the town.
Tisha has two sisters named Neve and Alissa.
Although best known for her 316-episode stint in Coronation Street, Tisha is a versatile performer who has also appeared in movies.
She featured in the 2013 movie Talma Rose, taking on the role of Candi — one of three girls singing in a Mowtown band.
Tisha, who has removed all photos of Alan from her Instagram account, was cast in BBC medical soap Doctors in September 2023.
Who did Tisha Merry play on Corrie?
Tisha spent five years appearing on ITV‘s on longest-running soap.
She played Steph Britton on Coronation Street from 2013-2017, with a brief return stint in 2018.
Her character left to live in Portugal following the murder of her on-screen brother Luke at the hands of twisted killer Pat Phelan.
She previously said leaving the soap was the “best thing” that happened to her and launched her YouTube channel in 2020.
But she did say she would be open to returning, revealing: “I didn’t leave to never go back.
“Like I said, I left for a little break. Corrie was, hands down, the best years of my life.”
Who is Alan Halsall?
Alan is a 41-year-old English actor who is best known for playing mechanic Tyrone Dobbs for 26 years in Corrie.
They realised they weren’t on the same page and splitting up felt like the best optionA source
Before landing that role, Alan also had many parts in 90s TV shows including Hetty Wainthropp Investigates and Queer As Folk.
He also featured in the CITV four-part series Matt’s Million.
Alan won the National Television Award for Outstanding Serial Drama Performance for his role on Coronation Street in 2013.
Alan was forced to pull out of I’m A Celebrity in late 2023 and take time off from Corrie after a major knee operation.
He is thought to have injured himself while exercising and had reconstructive anterior cruciate ligament surgery in November.
Alan has daughter Sienna, aged ten, with his ex-wife — the former Corrie and Hollyoaks actress Lucy-Jo Hudson, 40.
Why did Tisha Merry and Alan Halsall break up?
Alan and Tisha were yoga buddies before they starting dating — they got together after Tisha left Corrie in 2019.
She moved into Alan’s home in Worsley, Greater Manchester, soon after.
In 2020, Tisha told OK Magazine: “It’s nice we built a strong foundation before anything romantic.”
And in July 2020 there were reports that the pair wanted to have a child together.
The couple were co-parenting Alan’s then six-year-old daughter Sienna — whom he shares with ex Lucy-Jo Hudson.
In an interview with OK!, Alan said to Tisha: “You always talk to each other about your aspirations, don’t you?
“What you’d like in terms of family, etc. We’ve never had a proper serious sit down but we’ve discussed the future together.”
Tisha realised she wanted kids with Alan after showering her boyfriend with praise for his parenting skills.
She said: “He’ll be so amazing. When we were still friends, I got asked to babysit and asked Alan to come along.
“We got there and it was just Alan babysitting. He’s such a good dad; he’s so caring and loving.
“He notices everything and his communication with Sienna is so strong. I would love that for our child if we have one.”
But on February 16, 2024, source close to the pair told The Sun on Sunday the exact reason they called it a day: “Alan and Tisha had a lot of love for each other and had really similar interests, enjoying socialising and going on holiday together.
“But they started to drift apart and feel the pressure of making their relationship work get on top of them. They realised they weren’t on the same page and splitting up felt like the best option.
“They’ve been focusing on themselves and surrounding themselves with their own friends.
“Tisha moved out of Alan’s home around a month ago and is throwing herself into work.”