Kym Ryder has been named celebrity mum of the year for 2008

The couple said the split was "amicable", while an ITV statement added that ex-EastEnders star Jack would continue to see Kym's children.

The pair married in 2002, having met in a BBC canteen when Kym was appearing on TV music programme Top of the Pops.

They had a trial separation a year later but reunited. Nobody else was involved in the break-up, they said.

Kym was 25 and Jack was 20 when their wedding took place in front of 300 guests.

Our relationship is good because we work at it, and we're friends as well as being in love Kym Ryder, interviewed in 2007

OK! magazine was reported to have paid �300,000 for exclusive coverage of the ceremony six years ago.

After the wedding, Kym quit Hear'Say - the band brought together by ITV reality show Popstars in 2001 - while Jack left EastEnders, in which he had played Jamie Mitchell for four years.

Since joining Coronation Street, Kym has won a National Television Award, a British Soap Award and a TV Quick Award for her role as barmaid Michelle Connor.

Last year Kym admitted in an interview that she and Jack were "not the perfect couple" but were "just happy being us".

Kym (top right) was a member of manufactured pop group Hear'Say

"Our relationship is good because we work at it, and we're friends as well as being in love.

"Jack and I have our own lives outside the family so we can come home and talk about something else. It's healthy for a relationship."

The ITV statement, issued on Thursday night, said: "With great sadness, Kym and Jack Ryder have decided to separate after seven years together.

"Their separation is amicable and they remain friends, with Jack continuing to see Kym's children, David and Emily."

The pair also requested privacy "in consideration of the children's emotional welfare".