The one-time dowdy kennel maid grew up into a glamorous young hairdresser and she makes the most of her effect on men.
Life and Times
2000 The sweet and innocent kennel-maid starts seeing Tyrone Dobbs after he buys a greyhound from her kennels. Tyrone proposes just two months later in Blackpool.
2001 Their teen romance is over after Maria puts Tyrone on a diet and factory girl Fiz Brown tempts him away with chip butties and bacon rolls.
2002 Changes her image and her job and has a whirlwind romance with Nick Platt. Moves to Canada with him, but returns alone when the excitement fizzles out.
2003 Starts an affair with flat-mate Toyah’s boyfriend, John, and falls pregnant but has an abortion. Nick returns and she gives him a second chance.
2004 Nick proposes but his ex-wife – and Toyah’s sister – Leanne, returns to the street and splits them up. Dates another good-for-nothing, Dave, but later gets back with dependable Tyrone.
2005 Cheats on Tyrone with footballer Stuart but realises she’s been used and says ‘yes’ to Tyrone’s proposal.
2006 Tyrone ‘lets her go’ when he realises she doesn’t love him. Manipulated into an affair with attached builder Charlie Stubbs. Love-struck teen David Platt finds out and causes trouble. Dumps Charlie when he attacks David.
2007 Called as a witness after Charlie’s girlfriend, Tracy Barlow, murders him. Falls for Tracy’s brother, Peter, and is upset when he makes clear it was just a fling.
Born Samia Ghadie on 13 July 1982, Samia grew up in Eccles in Greater Manchester.
Samia’s mum, Patsy, is former cabaret star Bubbles Devine, who met Samia’s French-Lebanese dad, Joseph - a former diver - when she was touring the Middle East. The couple married and moved to Salford to run an off-licence and bring up Samia and her older brother, Tariq, but they are now separated.
Samia went to drama lessons from the age of six and also modeled for catalogues as a child. Her first TV role was as an extra in Corrie when she was eight, and her first speaking role was at age 11 in an episode of Cracker. She went on to play guest roles in various TV dramas, including Heartbeat and Doctors, and she had a regular role in kids show Children’s Ward, where she first met Corrie co-star Alan Halsall, who also starred in the show.
Samia’s big break came while she was doing her ‘A’ Levels as she was picked to star in Brit flick There’s Only One Jimmy Grimble, alongside Robert Carlyle. Samia was asked to play Maria soon after and made her debut in Corrie just after the film premiered at Cannes.
Samia dated fellow actor Ciaran Griffiths after meeting him on the set of There’s Only One Jimmy Grimble, and Ciaran later appeared in Coronation Street as tearaway Dean Sykes. Samia went on to meet property developer Matthew Smith and they married on 10 September 2005.
