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BOXING CLEVER
Emmerdale star completely unrecognisable as she’s seen for the first time on set of Prince Naseem movie
The star's A-list on-screen husband is equally as unrecognisable
SHE recently hit out at her former soap for its brutal handling of her character's exit.
Now, ex-Emmerdale actress Katherine Dow is having the last laugh after landing a role in a major British film starring Pierce Brosnan.
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Katherine, who played vicar Harriet Finch in the Dales for nine years, looked unrecognisable on the set of the Prince Naseem movie, Giant.
The actress, 59, plays legendary boxing trainer Brendan Ingle's [Brosnan] wife Alma.
Our exclusive photos of her on set show Katherine with a ginger perm, opposed to her usual longer and darker 'do, as she makes her way inside a house.
Wearing specs and a green coat, Katherine flashed a subtle smile on her way inside.
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Her equally as unrecognisable co-star Brosnan, 70, was nearby, smiling as he marched down the street in a taupe suit and tie.
Giant tells the real life story of Naseem as he made his way up the boxing ranks to become one of the most celebrated British sports stars of all time.
The story will track him from his humble beginnings in working class Sheffield and the unorthodox training he went through with Ingle in order to get international acclaim.
Playing out in the 80s and 90s, Naseem has to face and overcome rampant Islamophobia and racism in order to dominate in the ring.
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Amir Al-Masry, who was most recently seen as a young Muhammed Al-Fayed in The Crown, will take on the role of Naseem, with Gangs Of London writer Rowan Athale writing and directing the sports drama.
Ingle, who died in 2018, trained four world champions during his time as a trainer - Johnny Nelson, Naseem Hamed, Junior Witter, and Kell Brook.
Hollywood star takes on huge role in Naseem Hamed biopic (1)
At the time, he ran a gym across the street from the corner shop owned by Naseem's parents.
He took Naseem under his wing at the age of seven, and taught him out to box when, at the time, he wasn't a professional trainer.
The pair worked together until the age of 25, when things soured between them over a combination of ego and money.
Ingle attempted to break ties with Naseem in 1997, before they went their separate ways in 1998.
Alma, who died from cancer in 2020, was a boxing legend in her own right.
She was the first female amateur boxing judge in the North East when she qualified in 1975.
An ever-present in the Ingle gym, she earned a promotional license in 1981 - making her only the second woman in the country to hold one.
She then went on to be elected to a British Boxing Board of Control divisional committee.
SOAP EXIT
Meanwhile, Katherine's Harriet was killed off during the show’s 50th anniversary month in October 2022.
She fell off a quad bike during a storm and it subsequently crushed her following an explosion.
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“I went up and they basically said, ‘We love Harriet and we're going to give her a good death,’” she told Soap From the Box podcast.
“I did sit there for ten seconds thinking, have I done something wrong? They say don't take it personally but it's impossible not to.
“I was taken aback. I said, ‘Well you don't know what to do with me anyway, do you?’
“I tried to get out of the building, sat in my car and burst into tears because it was a shock.
“I had been ready to go for a while, to be fair, but to make the decision to leave a good job is a big decision and I'm glad they made it because I possibly wouldn't have been brave enough.”
I tried to get out of the building, sat in my car and burst into tears because it was a shock
Katherine Dow Blyton
Despite the shock, Katherine had already been left uncomfortable with the changes made to Harriet.
The character had become an accessory to murder when she covered up the shooting of her ex-lover and in grim scenes dug up his body.
Harriet went on to suffer a breakdown before quitting as a vicar and rejoining the police force as a constable - something that didn’t sit right with Katherine.
“Going back to being a policewoman on the beat at my age was, I think, a bit left field,” she said.
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“For the first time in my nearly ten years, I felt uncomfortable in my own skin because it just felt wrong to me.
“When Harriet came in she was such a fabulous character, she was a bit naughty, a bit off the wall, she had a sense of humour. When did you laugh see Harriet laugh?”
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