On edge, fidgeting and uneasy, young Cameron Small glances at the door of the studio as he prepares for his photo shoot. When his heroine Tupele arrives, his fears vanish immediately.

The young campaigner giggles with delight as the Coronation Street actress gives him a cuddle, then kneels to look him in the eye and ask if he's okay.

It's a touching moment and the affection between the pair is obvious, as they laugh and joke while posing for pictures, clearly loving every minute.

Their lives couldn't be more different, Tupele Dorgu, 30, is famous for playing
factory girl Kelly in Coronation Street, while 10-year-old Cameron Small suffers from autoimmune haemolytic anaemia, a life-threatening condition that affects his
immune system.

Yet Cameron and Tupele (pronounced tup-elle-eh) have formed a bond through their dedication to raising money for a children's hospital in Manchester.

Life saving

When Tupele was asked to be a patron of the charity, she didn't hesitate. In a
cruel irony her boyfriend's nephew, Connor, was diagnosed with leukaemia at the
same time.

'I've seen how much a child's illness can affect the whole family. Connor is five now but he was just three when he was diagnosed.

'Thankfully he had treatment and recovered, although he'll need regular check-ups until he's 18. He's an incredible little boy and has now started school.

'I've seen first-hand how his parents have coped and how they have had to remain strong for their child's sake.

'That's why this charity is so important to me. Parents need to be able to get a good night's sleep – and often just be given some space, where they can go off and cry
in private.

'I hope to have children of my own, so when I see these parents working so hard to keep the family unit together, it makes me wonder how I would cope in that situation.'

Tupele lives in Manchester with her boyfriend, 39-year-old businessman Mark Flanagan. They've been together for three years.

She says she couldn't be happier with their relationship. They've also set up a business together called Sugar Storm, an agency which makes it easy for people to book celebrities and artists for events.

Her on-screen persona as a brash, miniskirted loudmouth factory worker could not be more different to the off-screen Tupele.

Softly spoken and casually dressed in jeans and a white shirt, Tupele admits she is actually very shy and tries to avoid glitzy showbiz circles. She rarely gives interviews but agreed to talk to Tesco magazine to raise awareness for the charity.

Lancashire lass

She says she has always remained fully grounded thanks to her upbringing in Preston, Lancashire.

'We were the only mixed-race family in our street – my mum is half English, half Irish, and my dad is Nigerian. But despite our backgrounds there was never any animosity towards my family.

'Of course there was the odd comment. I remember lots of the kids in my class thought my dad was Jamaican and assumed that all we ate was chicken, rice and peas, which was quite funny. But if anything, growing up being different from everyone else gave me a greater sense of awareness in a positive way.

'Before landing a part in Coronation Street I appeared in musicals in the West End. I was trained as a dancer and I left home at 18 to go London and try to break into the industry.

'I'm lucky that I had such supportive parents while I was growing up and thanks to them I do realise how important it is to have a stable family life.

'Which is why I feel so inspired by Cameron and his wonderful parents, Andy and Diane,' says Tupele.

Cameron has been listening intently to Tupele as we chat, clearly enjoying being in her company and loving every minute of the photo shoot.

'Tupele is really brilliant,' he grins, 'my mates can't believe I'm friends with a famous person. She's really cool – and pretty too!'

To make a donation visit www.newchildrenshospitalappeal.org.uk.