'Only in Corrie can a woman be held at gun point and have an affair in her 90s'

31 January 2024 , 18:52

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Julie Hesmondhalgh has seen a change in the way older women are celebrated in acting (Image: ITV)

Julie Hesmondhalgh says that older women are making a comeback on our screens.

The star, 53, is best known for playing Hayley Cropper on Coronation Street from 1998 to 2014 and last month she earned rave reviews playing Suzanne, the wife of Alan Bates in ITV drama Mr Bates vs the Post Office. Also starring in Happy Valley and Broadchurch – which earned her a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actress in 2018 – Julie has witnessed a change in the industry that celebrates older women. She said: “I have seen definitely a change in attitudes towards it and an interest in telling those stories for sure.

Julie starred in the ITV drama alongside Toby Jones (ITV)

“You know, things like Happy Valley have done wonders for middle aged women, ordinary looking middle aged women. Sarah Lancashire is just like every woman and I don’t know, a single person who wasn’t captivated by that performance and saw something of themselves in it.

“You know, [a] sort of curmudgeonly ordinary woman dealing with these extraordinary circumstances. And, I think that has helped when something like that is so popular, and its captured the national imagination in that way. I think that the commissioners then think, Oh, we want more of this.” She also singled out Sanditon star Anne Reid, 88, as being “brilliant”, adding: “Lots of writers are catching on to the idea that people with a rich and full life behind them make rich and full and interesting drama as well. And that’s really exciting.”

She told the Actors’ Benevolent Fund podcast that Corrie was incredible for promoting older women on screen, adding: “One of the big issues for me in my list of pros and cons about leaving was that Coronation Street is a really, really amazing place to grow old. Especially as a woman.

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“There aren’t very many other genres, I suppose where though you’re still getting fabulous storylines in your 80s and 90s. You know, you’re still having love affairs and divorces and being held at gunpoint in the sweet shop. It’s an amazing thing, and also it keeps you young. And so that really was the main thing that made me nervous about leaving.”

The Actors Benevolent Fund is a charity that supports actors and stage managers in times of need or if unable to work due to illness or old age.

Tom Bryant