Corrie's Bernie Winter's real-life off-screen - soap star lookalike and wife

15 December 2023 , 08:00

744     0

Corrie's Bernie Winter's real-life off-screen - soap star lookalike and wife

She may be gobby and a bit rough around the edges but fans of Coronation Street will miss Bernie Winters when she leaves the cobbles this Christmas.

The mum of twins Gemma and Paul - whom she actually named Gemini and Apollo - has been making viewers laugh since she landed on Corrie back in 2019. When the character first arrived more than four years ago, she wasn't exactly popular - she didn't have the best relationship with her kids and had broken the law on more than one occasion.

But fast forward to today and fans will be sad her character is leaving as she's proven to be quirky, funny and likeable. On screen her character has been sent to prison for handling stolen goods but what is actor Jane Hazlegrove’s life away from the spotlight?

The family's Christmas lunch in full swing

Bernie’s latest storyline has seen her sent to prison over Christmas despite the fact that her son Paul has Motor Neurone Disease (MND). To make matters worse while the family were celebrating Christmas early, social services caught up with daughter Gemma who they suspect could pose a threat to stepson Joseph and her and Chesney’s four quads. Jane recently told Soap magazine how she drew on her personal grief while filming the tragic storyline of Paul's MND.

“I was very upset [when I found out about the storyline] as I adore Peter Ash [who plays Paul] so I was gutted as this meant he would be going,” the actress revealed. “My corrie family are a tight unit. I’m so lucky to work with them all. I lost my dad recently, so I know what this kind of grief is like. It has been very emotional.”

Corrie's Sue Cleaver says I'm A Celebrity stint helped her to push boundaries

Gabrielle Glaister even played Jane Hazlegrove's doppelganger on Corrie

On a lighter note, Jane has a celebrity doppelganger and regularly gets confused for fellow actress Gabrielle Glaister, who played Patricia Farnham in Brookside. Gabrielle also starred in several episodes of Blackadder before appearing in Corrie to play Bernie’s doppelganger Fern last year. “Gabby and I are constantly mistaken for each other,” Jane said.

“We have often laughed about it together but then I started thinking it might be fun to have her in the show as Bernie’s secret twin or a doppelganger. I was so chuffed when they told me they had devised this storyline and that Gabby was on board.

“Shortly after I had heard we were doing the story, I was at the Soap Awards and someone who used to work with Gabby started talking to me thinking I was her. The actor was mortified when I pointed out who I was, but of course I don’t mind being mistaken for Gabby. It’s a huge compliment.”

Coronation Street Bernie Winter star Jane Hazlegrove's is married to actress Isobel Middleton (@jane_hazlegrove/Instagram)

But what’s Jane’s life like when the cameras are off? She's happily married to wife Isobel Middleton and has a dog called Gert. Jane regularly supports Pride events and often takes part in fundraisers such as Sober October to raise money for Macmillan Cancer, as well as Save The Arts campaigns. Isobel is also an actress and has starred in Cracker, Silent Witness, Marcella, Doctor Who and Holby City.

Revealing how they met, Jane said in 2022: “So 25 years ago I went to do a play in London Town... and on this night 25 years ago I met a woman called Wiz... 8 house moves later, 3 cities later, and whole lot of loving and laughing... here we are 25 years later. Civil partners for 10... married for 5! I love you darling girl with every inch of my being... and as a wise old friend once said this love is my greatest achievement! And I’m pleased to report I can now remember your name!”

Jane and Isobel became civil partners in 2010, after Isobel became sick. “The reason we did it was because Isobel hadn’t been well,” Jane told The Metro. “It became very clear that I wasn’t really allowed to know anything about how she was because we weren’t related, even though we’d lived together for 15 years. It made me quite cross that I had no say in what happened to her. It all worked out fine, thankfully, but the morning after the civil partnership, I remember us saying over breakfast, ‘No-one can touch us now’.”

Jackie Annett