Ex Corrie actors join Happy Valley series 2 in 2016

(This post was originally posted on the Coronation Street Blog August 2015, reposted to this blog with permission.)

Last year, Sarah Lancashire starred in a police drama called Happy Valley. Keep your eye open for it. We often get British dramas in Canada on some of the cable stations like Showcase. It's gritty and really, really good. Anyway.

Sarah used to play Raquel Watts in Corrie. Happy Valley was filmed in beautiful Yorkshire and was a really gripping drama, it really was, and I don't use words like "gripping" loosely. There's to be a second series that's starting filming soon and will air on BBC1 next year and there will be a few ex-Coronation Street actors joining Sarah.

We'll be seeing Julie Hesmondhalgh (Hayley Cropper), Amelia Bullmore (Steph Barnes) and Katherine Kelly (Becky MacDonald) in the series. That's quite a power line up, isn't it? Amelia has recently been in several series of Scott and Bailey which also starred former Corrie actor Suranne Jones (Karen MacDonald). Katherine Kelly has done many projects, too, best known to many for her role in Mr. Selfridge. Julie Hesmondlhalgh has only left Corrie more recently but has already shone on stage and in two short related series called Banana, and Cucumber and was in an episode of Inside No. 9. 

Happy Valley is created by Sally Wainwright who used to write for Corrie. It will be like old home week and after seeing the first series, I can't wait for the second one!




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Meet Annie Wallace - the inspiration for Corrie's Hayley Cropper

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog August 2015, reposted to this blog with permission.)

I can't express how happy I am to be blogging this about our friend Annie - at last. 

Last week in Manchester, a 50-year-old woman from Aberdeen was speaking on a panel at a Manchester Pride's Superbia event – Transcript.

The panel also included Corrie scriptwriters Damon Rochefort and Ben Tagoe, actors Bruno Langley (Todd Grimshaw) and Daniel Brocklebank (Billy the vicar), actress Julie Hesmondhalgh (Hayley Cropper) and Cucumber actress Bethany Black.

But never mind them, back to the Aberdeen woman! She's called Annie Wallace and blogger Tvor and I have been friends with her for over 16 years. Annie was brought in to Coronation Street in 1998 as a research assistant to Julie Hesmondhalgh – who played Hayley for 16 years.

As the inspiration for Coronation Street's Hayley, Annie last night spoke publicly for the first time about being transgender.

Annie reflected that Hayley was 'like a sister to her', and said: “It is still difficult for me to speak about it and at first trans activists were against Hayley. I spent two and a half hours with researchers having all of my hopes and dreams and fears put on cassette tapes. It was transcribed and given to all the writers at the time as their bible. I started looking at draft scripts. I wasn't telling Julie how to play a character, this was just about detail and putting full-stops and crossing ts.”

Julie says Annie was 'absolutely essential' for her portrayal of Hayley, especially with the huge secrecy surrounding the first introduction of a transgender character on the Cobbles.

The Accrington-born actress said: “When I was researching Hayley I couldn't ask anyone in the transgender community because it was so top secret. I was able to do a bit of reading but this was 1997. Annie helped me to believe that I was on the right track, even if I wasn't representing every trans person in the country, I was representing her. What she did with the writers and the researching was absolutely vital. So much of Hayley was based on Annie – they share the same birthday and has so many of Annie's characteristics – like her love of rock music.

"I owe Annie so much.”

Julie and Annie are planning to write a two-woman show together about what Hayley has meant to them, which they hope to run at Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

And Annie, who is now an actress in her own right, said: "Watch this space!"

Read the full story, and see all the pics at the Manchester Evening News.


Read our exclusive interview from 2014 with Annie Wallace.

Relive Roy and Hayley's romance in A Perfect Duet - the diary of Roy and Hayley Cropper.



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Julie Hesmondhalgh awarded Freedom of Hyndburn

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog January 2015, reposted to this blog with permission.)

Recently, on Wednesday January 28th, our honorary blogger and talented artist Jo Blakely, attended presentation to ex-Corrie actress Julie Hesmondhalgh, who was awarded the Freedom Of Hyndburn.

Julie, who played Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street, was described as "a wonderful ambassador" for Hyndburn by Councillor Ken Moss.

"The Freedom of the Borough is the highest honour we can bestow, and Julie Hesmondhalgh is most definitely a worthy recipient," he said.

You can read the official release at the BBC website.

Honorary blogger Jo, who is on twitter @PickledJo and has a website here, reports that:

"The evening started with a couple of speeches including one by the Hyndburn Mayor.  Julie then signed the book to become and Honorary Freeman of the Borough and was presented with a framed certificate and flowers..

 

Julie's speech was lovely, where she thanked everyone from her family, school, college, drama teachers, friends, pubs and local record shops.

Then there was a 'This is your Life' styled presentation and acts from some local schools including cheerleaders throwing each other into the air and doing back-flips, some 'Stomp' style drumming, a short play by pupils from Accrington Academy and Students from St Christopher's High School performing The Lion king.

The highlight was a group of young Am-Dram students doing The Life of Hayley Cropper in 3 minutes and 30 seconds. Great little actors with a fabulous quirky script.

The show ended with Julie giving all the performers a fabulous motivational speech about keeping up their creativity, no matter what stands in their way.

A lovely night for a lovely 'local lass'. She gave away that she has a Lancashire Rose tattooed on her stomach, but it looks more like a rhododendron bush after having her 2 daughters!.

And my favourite quote of the night was that Julie has to be a believable actor to be a woman playing a man playing a woman."



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Julie Hesmondhalgh on a new relationship for Roy

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog May 2014, reposted to this blog with permission.)

Julie Hesmondhalgh, who played Hayley Cropper on Coronation Street, says it would break her heart if she sees former on-screen husband Roy Cropper with someone new.

Julie says:  "I'm sure at some point Roy will have to try and see someone again and I'm sure he'll have Hayley's blessing and they'll have much discussion about that, so I'll be very happy to live on in conversations in the street."

On how she'd deal with seeing a new woman in Roy's life, Julie admitted: "As Julie, it will kill me, I'll find it very, very difficult, but I think Hayley would give him her blessing. I think she'd want him to live on, as long as it was someone nice."

David Neilson says this about Roy: "He'll get into a relationship... Whether that's a relationship in the accepted sense I don't know.  I just want to do interesting stories. I don't mind if he builds himself a kalashnikov out of Meccano and takes half the street out, I'll enjoy it."

Corrie producer Stuart Blackburn has already ruled out a new love interest for Roy.  He says: "We are now building a new friendship for Roy, but as long as I'm producer, he will not have a romance with anyone.  If that's the only story we can give Roy, we're a bit crap at our job."  However, he also says that Roy is "pushed into actions he never imagined".

You can relive Roy and Hayley Cropper's love story, all 16 years of it, from Hayley's first appearance on Coronation Street until her very last.  There's a fab little book, with a foreword by Julie Hesmondhalgh - it's A Perfect Duet.

A Perfect Duet - the Diary of Roy and Hayley Cropper
With a foreword by Coronation Street actress Julie Hesmondhalgh, who played Hayley Cropper for 16 years

Facebook page for the book.

Available from FBS Publishers, Amazon UK, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada and Waterstones.com. 
Available as an eBook on Kindle, Kobo, Barnes & Noble and iBook.
Bookshops in Australia can order via their wholesalers.


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Julie Hesmondhalgh to star in new Russell T Davies drama

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog May 2014, reposted to this blog with permission.)

Julie Hesmondhalgh, who playdd Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street, is to star in a new Channel 4 drama from writer Russell T Davies.

The Channel 4 drama about gay life in the 21st Century is Hesmondhalgh's first TV role since she left the part of Hayley Cropper behind in January.  The series was announced last year but casting has only just been revealed.

Julie will join Freddie Fox and Vincent Franklin - who starred in The Thick Of It - in Cucumber, which is currently filming in Manchester. The series will be aired in 2015.


Cucumber follows 46-year-old Henry (Franklin) and his long-suffering boyfriend Lance, whose lives are turned upside down after a disastrous date night. Hesmondhalgh will play Henry's sister.




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Corrie cast cheer on Julie Hesmondhalgh on stage

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog January 2013, reposted to this blog with permission.)

 

Julie Hesmondhalgh in Blindsided

Gone are the red anorak and brown wig.  Just a week after we saw Hayley's final scenes on Coronation Street, Julie Hesmondhalgh took to the stage for her new role - cheered on by a host of her former Corrie cast members.

Julie is now starring in the world premiere production of Blindsided at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester.  

The Manchester Evening News has a review of the play and a gallery of pictures of Corrie cast members who turned out to see Julie in the play last night.

Rebecca Callard, the daughter of Bev Callard, who plays Corrie's Liz McDonald, is also starring alongside Julie in Blindsided.

Review: Julie Hesmondhalgh in Blinded at the Royal Exchange Theatre


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Julie Hesmondhalgh on life after Hayley Cropper

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog January 2013, reposted to this blog with permission.)

There's a good interview with Julie Hesmondhalgh, who plays Hayley Cropper on Coronation Street.  Julie talks about the response to Hayley's demise on Corrie, what it means to her, and also about what she's going to be doing once she leaves the show.

Julie will be on stage at the Royal Exchange on the opening night of her next play, the drama Blindsided.
It tells the story of a young woman whose life is devastated after falling in love with a man in Stockport in the 1970s.

After that, Julie will return to Black Roses for a tour and a run at London's Southbank Centre later in the spring.

Read the full interview here.

There is also a really good article from the Guarding with an interview with Julie H. as well:

There's an absolutely fantastic interview in today's Guardian with Julie Hesmondhalgh, who plays the soon-to-be-departed Hayley Cropper.

Julie talks about Hayley's right to die storyline and how she got the job as pre-op transsexual Hayley back in 1998.

Julie says: "I remember going to the audition in a leopardskin coat because I thought she was going to be another Bet Lynch. When I got to the office, everybody was laughing. The idea was that Roy was going on a series of disastrous dates and I would be the third, a pre-op transsexual. But I didn't laugh. I thought: 'This isn't a joke, Hayley won't be a funny character.'"

She got the part and went off to Manchester's leftwing Front Line Books for remedial reading on transgender issues. But, when Hayley finally hit our screens, transgender pressure groups complained. "They said: 'How could a young upstart who isn't transgender play the part seriously?'"

Hesmondhalgh's sympathetic portrayal of Hayley silenced those objections because she revolutionised attitudes to transgender people – and not just among Corrie's viewers. The upstart became the hero: significantly, she is now a patron of two transgender pressure groups, Trans Media Watch and Press for Change. 

Read our exclusive blog interview with the Press for Change consultant who helped Coronation Street develop the role of Hayley Cropper.

Julie denies Hayley's death will promote or normalise suicide. "The idea that it will promote copycat suicides pisses me off more than anything. Hundreds of murders are shown every day on TV and nobody's saying that normalises murder. But this story – that has been seeded for months and everybody knows is going to happen – is supposed to make people in Hayley's condition commit suicide? Rubbish! Nobody's going to be tuning in on Monday night to copy her. It's insulting to those who are in Hayley's predicament to say otherwise."

The Samaritans gave guidance to Coronation Street on the Hayley storyline. "Our role was to help them to cover this as safely as possible, not to approve their decision to run the story at all," says Rachel Kirby-Rider, director of fundraising and communications.

A major concern for the Samaritans was that Coronation Street did not give details of how Hayley obtained the drugs to kill herself, or what they were. "There is extensive research that demonstrates that inappropriate portrayal, or reporting, of suicide can lead to imitative or 'copycat' behaviour among vulnerable people," adds Kirby-Rider.

Julie is now preparing to appear in two plays at Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre. She says; "I got a text from David (Neilson) today saying he's just going back to work, and part of me envies him because I loved working on Coronation Street. I'm so proud of what we achieved."

Read the full interview here.


See also: Exclusive! Celebrity Corrie Blogger - Julie Hesmondhalgh
See also: Hayley Ann Cropper - This is Your Life



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Exclusive: "Corrie's Hayley changed my life"

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog January 2013, reposted to this blog with permission.)

Here at the Coronation Street Blog, we are privileged to bring you an exclusive article from the real-life lady who helped the Corrie writers with the character of Hayley Cropper.

Working with Press for Change, the lobbying and educational organisation, which campaigns to achieve equal civil rights and liberties for all transsexual people in the UK, she was the advisor to Coronation Street for 18 months from April 1998, three months after Hayley first appeared on screen.

We are absolutely honoured to hear from the woman whose help and advice has propelled Hayley to become one of Corrie’s best loved female characters. After 16 years of Hayley on our screens, the real-life transsexual advisor to Coronation Street on Hayley's character, gives us an insight into how it feels to say goodbye to Hayley Cropper...

____
"It's been incredibly hard saying goodbye to lovely Hayley Cropper, but all good things come to an end, apparently. When Julie told me last year that she was leaving Corrie, I felt excited for her, and for her future career... but so sad that Hayley would inevitably have to die.

To me, after 16 years, Hayley had become like a younger sister; genetically linked but off having a life of her own, created and nurtured by the fabulous writers at Coronation Street, and played with such enthusiasm and heart by the lovely Julie Hesmondhalgh.

Although my little part in Hayley's life only lasted about 18 months, I never quite cut the cord, as it were, emotionally. I felt Hayley's highs and lows along with the nation, and was always hoping for the best for her. When she got married the first time, in 1999, I was drying my tears in the Corrie studio. In 2010, I did the same at Tatton Hall, and now here I am now sobbing my heart out, watching her dwindle and die, pale and jaundiced.

Julie's commitment to the role meant that she lost a lot of weight towards the end, and by gum it showed. This has not been a sugar-coated view of death, but a hard painful road of increasing pain and deterioration as pancreatic cancer took her away, bit by bit, with alarming speed. This story has gripped the nation, and put Corrie top of the ratings for months now, and is something that all concerned can be justly proud of. The worst parts for me were the little things... Seeing Roy cry for the first time at the hospital as he could only say two words to Fiz had me howling; Roy's face at his birthday party in the Rovers; Hayley's brave front crumbling as she said "I don't want to leave life"; Roy picking her up in the cafe when she broke down; and then the final moments, gulping down the bitter pharmaceutical cocktail that would end her life.... and then passing away in Roy’s arms.

Hayley Patterson (as was) changed my life. Through an introduction to the story team via Press for Change’s Christine Burns, my eyes were opened to a wider world, of TV drama, and the big city on my occasional trips to Granada Studios. A year or so later, I would move permanently to Manchester, my adopted home town, where I live to this day. I found my first real love at the same time, and although we split 18 months later, I felt I was growing up, just as Hayley was onscreen.

Sadly I have, to date, not found "my Roy"; the one thing Hayley had over me.... a partner to love her, unconditionally and completely.

But this was never just about Hayley alone; the past 16 years have been about Roy-and-Hayley. The couple so in love, and so perfect together, that the nation took them to their hearts almost from day one. The onscreen partnership of Julie Hesmondhalgh and David Neilson won awards in 1999 and 2004, and they became the moral centre of the Street. Never conventional, always believable. David's performances over the years, both tender and comic (especially over the last 12 months), have never been less than gold standard. I look forward to seeing Roy try to piece his life back together without his soulmate in the months to come. I'm keeping more Kleenex handy.

So to my lovely friend, Julie, who took the big step, and out into the wider acting world. Even before I had ANYTHING to do with Corrie, I loved her portrayal of the shy, loving trans woman that resembled me so much back in the 90's. When we first met, I think we were both relieved that we just clicked and became close friends from that point. Even when Corrie has written slightly dubious storylines for Roy and Hayley, such as Tracy Barlow's framing of Roy, or going on the run with Wayne Hayes, or Hayley's "long-lost son", Julie has always managed to sell it to me, just by being fantastic. She has always supported me in all my creative endeavours (and my occasional emotional meltdowns!), and I will continue to support Julie in hers, as she branches out into the waiting world of theatre, TV and film... and I couldn't be more delighted for her.

Goodbye Hayley, it’s been a privilege.



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Coronation Street and Julie Hesmondhalgh win at National TV Awards

copyright @itvcorrie via twitter

Woohoo!  Coronation Street has won the award for Best Serial Drama at this year's National Television Awards.

Serial Drama, is of course the posh name for Soap.

The awards were held tonight, Wednesday January 22nd 2014 in London.

Corrie producer Stuart Blackburn led a host of cast members onto the stage to collect the award.   

David Neilson (Roy Cropper) spoke first and said: "Thank you so much to everyone who voted, to everyone who didn't vote. The reaction to shows like ours and Emmerdale, Eastenders and Hollyoaks is that they create a feeling of community and occasionally you get a huge reaction from a story and you realise how important these shows are because when people laugh together, cry together you get community and this show is made by - we're the front of it, but -fantastic crew, the funniest people in the world but also the people who are the most professional and know when to give you a bit of quiet and know when it's serious and also the hallmark of this show, just wonderful, wonderful writing. And we're led by Stuart Blackburn who has been very brave in going for some very, very tough stories."

Stuart Blackburn followed up by saying: "Thank you so much for this. It's 53 years old this show. I'd like to thank everyone who's been in it, everyone's who in it, everyone who will be in it. It's come this after a fantastic year, so thank you the audience for voting. Thank you, everyone"

Well done to Coronation Street for this very well deserved award!



Julie Hesmondhalgh wins Serial Drama Performance at National TV Awards

copyright @itvcorrie via twitter

Julie Hesmondhalgh who plays played Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street, has won the award for Serial Drama Performance at this year's National Television Awards.

The awards were held tonight, Wednesday January 22nd 2014 in London.

Well done to Julie for a very well deserved award!

In accepting her speech Julie dragged David Neilson on stage with her.  "There ain't no Roy without Hayley. There ain't no Hayley without Roy.  Thank you so much to our Corrie family. You know how I feel about you all. I love and miss you. Thank you everyone, for everything."

Julie thanked the Samaritans for their support with the Hayley storyline. She also thanked cancer charities especially Pancreatic Cancer UK and Maggie Watts for the petition.  She thanked three men in her life - her late father, her husband TV writer Ian Kershaw and Corrie co-actor David Neilson for the last 16 years working on the soap.   

David said: "We all love and miss Julie so much but no more than me.  She stands there and looks at me and says "Dave, you've got a bogey!"

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Exclusive! Celebrity Corrie Blogger - Julie Hesmondhalgh

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog January 2013, reposted to this blog with permission.)

Julie Hesmondhalgh has played Hayley Cropper on Coronation Street since January 1998 and has very kindly taken up our challenge for a celebrity to write about their love of Coronation Street.

In return we're donating £25 to Julie's charity of choice which is the Pancreatic Cancer UK charity.

And now, it's over to Julie..

"I was always a Corrie viewer.  Growing up in '70s Accrington it was a way of life, like fish on Fridays and half day closing on Wednesday, something that just WAS.  Our cat Frisbee used to go wild and climb the curtains whenever the familiar theme music came on. Perhaps some animal instinct told her just how important that theme tune would become to our family…

Later, I moved to London and went to a drama school with a lot of posh people, and Corrie became like a delicacy, a taste of home, a reminder of where I was from.

When I got cast as Hayley Patterson in the winter of 1997 it was a relief.  Any actor born in the north will tell you it is the cross you have to bear, to be asked every day of your life, no matter what theatrical or even cinematic success you may be enjoying, “When are we going to see you on Corrie then?” I swear that’s why Ian McKellan did his time on the cobbles. How fantastic to be able to finally say “Next Wednesday 7.30”!

And here I am, 16 years on, no longer a part of that wonderful institution, but still on screen (for a few weeks at least) and still a Corrie viewer and fan.  It’s always been a joke at work that I really belong at the gates with the fans and the autograph hunters…it’s like THEY LET ME IN!

I was still pinching myself right to the end, not being able to believe my luck, particularly when having the honour of filming with the Legends of the Street (Rita, Dennis, Deirdre, Liz, Betty, Becky, to name a few).

And to have these amazing storylines has been the icing on the cake.  To see attitudes shift towards trans-people over the years as the Croppers’ love story endured, was the highlight of my career, but then the phenomenal response to Hayley’s long and painful goodbye has been one of the things I’m most proud of in my life.

Pancreatic Cancer UK

Pancreatic cancer is a horrible disease, with a terrible survival rate that hasn’t improved in years.  A petition calling for better funding had less than 5000 signatures when the storyline began and is now just shy of 20,000. 

I have received hundreds of tweets and letters from people who have lost loved ones, who are fighting cancer themselves or are caring for sick relatives. Rather than switching off they’ve found some sort of comfort in seeing their experiences reflected onscreen.  It has been a privilege to have people share their stories with me.  

The Right to Die debate is a controversial and difficult one, but again I feel so proud to be part of the conversation. And that’s all I am…a part of it all.  The researchers, the storyliners, the producers, directors, the fantastic writers and the crew are the unsung heroes, and without David Neilson as my partner I would not have come this far. He is as brilliant as you think. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens to all my friends, and what adventures await my darling Roy, once Hayley has gone. 
 
That people invested so much in this off beat love story in the first place was miracle enough; to see how much they care now it’s coming to an end means the world.

Thank you for all of it." 


See also:  Hayley Ann Cropper, This is Your Life


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Julie Hesmondhalgh wins Royal Television Society Award 2013

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog November 2013, reposted to this blog with permission.)

Photo copyright @alanhalsall via twitter

The Royal Television Society Awards (North West) 2013 took place last night in Manchester.  Julie Hesmondhalgh, who played Hayley Cropper, won the award for Best Performance in a Continuing Drama.

Well done to Julie!

15. Best Performance in a Continuing Drama
Julie Hesmondhalgh – Coronation Street. ITV Studios - See more at: http://www.prolificnorth.co.uk/2013/10/the-royal-television-society-north-west-awards-2013-nominees-in-full/#sthash.IbKpCWxX.dpuf

15. Best Performance in a Continuing Drama
Julie Hesmondhalgh – Coronation Street. ITV Studios - See more at: http://www.prolificnorth.co.uk/2013/10/the-royal-television-society-north-west-awards-2013-nominees-in-full/#sthash.IbKpCWxX.dpuf

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Pics: War Horse goes to Weatherfield

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog November 2013, reposted to this blog with permission.)

Joey, star of the National Theatre's production War Horse, visited Coronation Street this week to celebrate Manchester Tourism Awards.

He was joined outside the Rovers Return by Coronation Street stars Helen Worth, who plays Gail McIntyre and Julie Hesmondhalgh, who plays Hayley Cropper. 

For further information on the War Horse UK tour visit: www.warhorseonstage.com.

Photo Credit: Ben Blackall

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Pics: Corrie cast at Julie Hesmondhalgh's leaving party

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog November 2013, reposted to this blog with permission.)

Last night, Friday 22 November was Julie Hesmondhalgh's leaving party after she filmed her final scenes on Coronation Street this week as Hayley Cropper. 

Julie's leaving party was held at Duke's 92 in the Castlefield area of Coronation Street and there are some great pictures at the Manchester Evening News website.   Note that some are wearing flashes of red in honour of Hayley.



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The importance of being Hayley

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog October 2013, reposted to this blog with permission.)

There's a beautiful tribute to Hayley Cropper in the Guardian.  The article is about how Hayley, having been brought into Coronation Street as a quirky love interest for an even quirkier Roy, has turned into one of the best-loved characters in the world of soap.  And oh boy, will she be missed when she's gone.

Read it here

You may also wish to read our exclusive interview with the the real-life woman who worked with and advised Corrie on the character of transsexual Hayley. Working with Press for Change, the lobbying and educational organisation, which campaigns to achieve equal civil rights and liberties for all transsexual people in the UK, she’s been the advisor to Coronation Street since April 1998, three months after Hayley first appeared on screen.

Read the interview here


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Blogger Graeme's meeting with a Corrie icon

(This post was originally posted by Graeme N on the Coronation Street Blog in November 2013.)

I admit it freely, I was chuffed to little mint balls to be going back to Manchester, home to Granada Studios and the wonderful Coronation Street.

I journeyed north for a face off with a group of experienced journalists well versed in media press conferences. As with all these things, I worried my lack of experience would show. However I needn't have as the event was thankfully dominated by the truly wonderful, warm and naturally funny Julie Hesmondhalgh.

Julie is very much the lady of the hour, and probably the year, as the terminally ill Hayley Cropper. Over the past fifteen years, we've all taken Hayley to our hearts. The character and actress really have demonstrated what is best about Coronation Street. For me, Hayley is right up there with the legends of Annie, Hilda, Elsie and the rest. Meeting the actress behind the character on what turned out to be her last day on set was an absolute privilege and something I'm likely to boast about for a long time to come.

The press conference dealt with many aspects of Hayley's final episodes, which for the moment we can't really talk about. I for one am quite glad as writing about it really does bring the end closer, something I'm sure none of us want.

I did struggle to get in any questions during the initial barage from all the journalists, however at the end, as everyone filed out, I plucked up the courage to approach Julie and tell her how much I had enjoyed watching Hayley over the years, and how great it was to meet her before she left Corrie. I'm so glad I did this as she was absolutely lovely to me and it really made my day.

Both Julie and her husband Ian Kershaw know the Coronation Street Blog, and Julie said how important blogs written by fans are for the continued success of the show.

Leaving Granada on Monday really did bring a tear to the eye. Before too much longer, not only will Coronation Street be saying goodbye to these legendary studios, home to so many wonderful memories, but also to an actress who really has typified what is best about Coronation Street in recent times.



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Julie Hesmondhalgh on Hayley cancer story: "Best episodes I've done"

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog July 2013, reposted to this blog with permission.)

There's an excellent short video on the official Coronation Street website at itv.com/corrie with Julie Hesmondhalgh as she gives her first on-screen interview about Hayley and Roy's huge storyline.

Julie said: "The episodes this week are just beautiful."

"It's only when the consultant talks about Roy that she falls to peices." And then we see the consultant asking Hayley: "You mentioned a husband, can you rely on him for sumpport?" 

"Oh yes, you can", we said on our sofa, last night when we watched this scene.

Julie talks about filming the powerful scenes between Hayley, Sylvia and Roy when she tells them she's got pancreatic cancer. "The words hung in the air on the set and everyone was a little bit quiet afterwards because it's something that affects everyone. Corrie does that well, it makes something universal, personal, like the transgender storyline."

We then see a scene of Hayley telling Roy she doesn't want anyone knowing about the cancer.  Julie says these scenes are "the best and my favourite five episodes I've ever done. Hayley being irritated by Roy, the Sylvia stuff undercutting everything and at the end Roy and Hayley coming together and talking about what to do in the future. That was pretty hard to do, and it'll be pretty hard to watch.

"The storyline honours their relationship and their love story, it's fitting and it's proper and it matters, it's what people are living with every single day and I think it's important to tell those stories."

And Julie Hesmondhalgh is promoting the petition to provide more funding and awareness for pancreatic Cancer to aid long overdue progress in earlier detection and, ultimately, improved survival rates.  Help Julie get 20,000 signatures - Hayley's legacy  - sign the petition at http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/48389

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Hayley's cancer storyline - Julie Hesmondhalgh reveals all (SPOILER!!!)

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog July 2013, reposted to this blog with permission.)

THERE ARE STORYLINE SPOILERS BEYOND THE FACT THAT WE KNOW THAT HAYLEY HAS CANCER

There's a good interview in this week's Inside Soap magazine with Julie Hesmondhalgh, who plays Coronation Street's Hayley Cropper.  Julie talks about Hayley's cancer storyline. I think we're all dreading this storyline and it would have been very hard to say goodbye to Hayley under any circumstances, but especially with a cancer storyline.

Julie says this about acting through Hayley's cancer plotline: "I remember one night at home walking up the stairs slightly stooped, and I had to remind myself that it wasn't me who was ill.  To play a part well sometimes you have to trick your body into thinking that's how you're feeling but then you have to remind your body that you're just acting.  You have to have a word with yourself because when you play a storyline like this, it can be quite hard to shake off."

Julie reveals that it's Carla who supports Hayley and that there's a lovely scene when they are in hospital and Carla holds Hayley's hand, with Hayley loooking really uncomfortable about it.

And then of course, there's Roy and how this will affect him. "He becomes an immediate nightmare," says Julie. "He starts researching her illness and makes her drink herbal tea and eat broccoli. She gets really fed up with him, but that's his way of coping."

But when Roy finds Hayley at Audrey's birthday party at the Bistro, he isn't best pleased as he thinks she should be at home looking after herself.  Julie says: "He manages to announce to everyone what's happened to Hayley. This isn't what she wanted, she didn't want to feel different or pitied."

After 15 years of playing Hayley Cropper, Julie says: "Hayley's issues of being transgendered offered a grat opportunity to bring an unusual issue into people's living rooms.  But this cancer storyline is something that affects pretty much evryone in one way or another - and I feel very honoured to be playing it."

For Corrie fans, it's not going to be an easy few months as we begin to say goodbye to Hayley.  Indeed, I think this could be one of the hardest storylines to watch in my 40 years of being a Coronation Street fan - and I still haven't got over Alma's death yet!

I wonder what'll happen to Hayley's iconic red anorak when Julie Hesmondhalgh leaves the show?



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We are breaking the spoiler rules on a current storyline

This blog generally maintains a spoiler-free policy for the Canadian timeline. It was easier to do when we were 10 months behind but even though we are only two weeks behind, that policy is still in place. There are always going to be exceptions now and then and this is going to be one of them.

Read no further if you don't want to know


but, as we did with the Tram Crash two years ago, there is a storyline that's just broken on our screens that is big. Very big. And because it's going to be difficult to avoid and because there could be some media coverage, we're going to break our no-spoiler rule.

The actress that plays Hayley Cropper, Julie Hesmondhalgh is leaving Coronation Street. She wants to do other things so it's her choice to leave. When I first heard this spoiler several months ago, I feared the worst. How could Hayley leave Roy? That would never happen unless she died. Sadly, that's what's happening. We now know that Hayley has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and she's been told it has a low survival rate.

This form of cancer is very aggressive and it's going to be very difficult for most of us to watch her journey. We wish Julie all the best and we know that these are the best actors to bring us this storyline. They are some of the best actors on Corrie and no doubt the writing and story will be handled sensitively but with a little gentle  humour now and then as Corrie often does.

The blog has a logo that links to the Pancreatic Cancer society in Canada for anyone that wants more information.

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Blog Exclusive! Interview with Corrie’s real-life Hayley Cropper

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog January 2013, reposted to this blog with permission.)



Here at the Coronation Street blog, we are privileged to bring you an exclusive interview with the lady who helped bring Corrie’s Hayley Cropper to life.  The interview was first posted here on the Coronation Street blog after Roy and Hayley's (2nd) wedding in 2010.

Working with Press for Change, the lobbying and educational organisation, which campaigns to achieve equal civil rights and liberties for all transsexual people in the UK, she’s been the advisor to Coronation Street since April 1998, three months after Hayley first appeared on screen.

We are absolutely honoured to speak now to the woman whose help and advice has propelled Hayley to become one of Corrie’s best loved female characters.

Q: First off, how did you enjoy Hayley’s wedding tonight on Corrie?

Wonderful! Very happy that Granada have continued to invest in Roy and Hayley as a couple and still occasionally drop in the kind of everyday situations that trans people face, legally and socially, in the wider world. The legal wedding of the Croppers is, in a way, the final step in a 12 year journey. It was all shot on location at the end of June, when we still had a summer, so it all looks beautiful. It was a lovely atmosphere on set for those five days of filming... I got quite emotional!

Q: Most people thought that Roy and Hayley were already married, so why was this second wedding necessary?
When Roy and Hayley first wanted to marry, they were unable to do so because the law at the time refused to acknowledge that Hayley was now a woman, i.e. she was still legally male. The best they could have was a “blessing ceremony”. The change of law brought about by the Gender Recognition Act of 2004 means that persons such as Hayley could now apply for a revised birth certificate, legally allowing her to marry the man of her choice, Roy. Since the law changed, I’d been hoping the story team would “finish the story” as it were, so I was delighted when I was told in March that it would indeed be featured this year.

Q: How did you get involved in bringing Hayley to life?
I was introduced to the story team by campaigning group Press for Change in 1998, just as Hayley was leaving Weatherfield for the first time, because they wanted to bring her back later that year, and really get to grips with her as a person and the subject of transsexuality as a plotline. I had already expressed a desire to do so, because there were very large parallels with Hayley’s life and my own. It was more a consultation exercise about her thoughts, emotions and hopes, than it was about the legalities. Things that only a first-hand experience could relate. The regular advisory role gradually diminished as years went by and ended around 2001, but I have always tried to stay in contact with the office, and offer whatever help I can.  

Q: Are there any of your own experiences that you suggested for Hayley’s storylines on Corrie?
There weren’t that many incidents as such. It was more life experiences, such as her father refusing to acknowledge her as Hayley, the missing photographs of her as a teenager, the fear of discovery and the humiliation felt when insults were thrown. The tax office blunder experienced by Hayley and Mike Baldwin was one of the good ones though. Because the first meeting between myself and the researcher was taped, a lot of my quotes and lines were used by Hayley over the next couple of years. I was often asked what my reaction would be to certain situations.

Q: What’ve you been most proud of in your advisory role with Hayley on Corrie?
Helping to change public perceptions I suppose. Not all trans people are some of the attention-seekers we see occasionally in the press. I’ve also been very happy at the warmth and love shown by the public to this “odd couple” love story, which has had to overcome so many challenges to get to where they are today.

Q: Isn't Julie Hesmondhalgh, who plays Hayley on screen, a patron of Press for Change?
Julie’s patronage is not a duty, nor is she led by Press for Change. She is simply an ambassador for “the cause” as it were. Because of her character, and our personal friendship, she can answer almost any question on the subject with honesty and insight. She has a passion for social justice and equality, and the role of Hayley has allowed her to have her part in changing the world in a very real way. She was the perfect person to cast as Hayley... in every way.

Q: Do you think having such a high-profile transsexual such as Hayley has helped change the public’s understanding and perception of transsexuals in the UK?
It has been very encouraging to see the sensationalist aspect of transsexualism diminish, as the wider public came to know a trans woman face-to-face, albeit a fictional one. The vast majority of transpeople want the same as Hayley; a quiet life with the one they love. For those of us who experienced the conflicts and emotions of being trans from very early childhood, life up to the point of transition was anything but quiet. Life has, in many ways, but not all, been made a little easier for the other transpeople out there, men and women, who want just that.

Q: What would you dearly love to see Hayley achieve in the future on Corrie?
After this wedding, she’s achieved everything I think... certainly in the realm of trans issues. I’ve often suggested to the story team that the issue of Hayley’s mum needs addressing. (She left Hayley and her dad to run off with another man when Hayley was only 12). So technically, she’s out there somewhere.)
Although the storyline about foster child Wayne back in 2001 has prevented the couple fostering or adopting a child officially... I’d like to see them become some kind of parents in the future. Having said that, they almost are, to Fiz and Becky.I’d also like to see Hayley become her own boss somehow since she’s got the skills and drive to do so. Most of all, I just want to see Roy and Hayley live happy ever after.

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Julie Hesmondhalgh swaps Coronation Street for stage

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog August 2012, reposted to this blog with permission.)

Julie Hesmondhalgh, who plays Coronation Street's Hayley Cropper, sent out this message yesterday on twitter:  @juliehes "Right that's me done. Bye bye Weatherfield till October!"

Julie will be starring in a new stage play at Manchester's Royal Exchange.

The play is Black Roses: The Killing of Sophie Lancaster, a moving response to the death of a young student, who was killed because she dressed differently. Julie will be playing the part of Sophie's mum Sylvia, with Sophie played by Rachel Austin.

Black Roses is an elegy for Sophie in which she tells her own story through a series of poems by the award-winning poet Simon Armitage, alongside the words of her mother, Sylvia Lancaster, remembering her daughter’s shortened life.

The piece provoked an unprecedented response when it premiered on Radio Four last year, winning the BBC Audio and Music Best Speech Programme of the Year Award.

The play runs from 19-29 September 2012. Find out more at the Royal Exchange website.

See also: The Sophie Lancaster Foundation

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