Julie Hesmondhalgh, known for her roles in Coronation Street and Happy Valley, will next month pick up a Lifetime Achievement award for her work supporting regional theatres. The actress, originally from Accrington, is being recognised for her acting work on stage and screen, but also her role in championing one particular Greater Manchester theatre.
She will be presented with the first ever Great British Theatres Lifetime Achievement Award by the Theatres Trust, in recognition of her tireless campaigning for Oldham Coliseum's Fairbottom Street home. The honour will be given at the inaugural Great British Theatres Awards being held in London on 2 November, as the Theatres Trust marks its 50th anniversary.
Campaign to save Oldham Coliseum
Speaking about the award, Hesmondhalgh said: "I'm very honoured to be awarded this inaugural award from the Theatres Trust, celebrating as it does the successful campaign to save Oldham Coliseum - a movement entirely led by a community who were not willing to see their historic, beloved theatre disappear."
She added: "I'm so proud to have been a small part of the gang who made that happen, and now to be part of the company who are working so hard to get us to the point of reopening and beyond."
Joshua McTaggart, CEO of Theatres Trust, said: "The concept for the Lifetime Achievement Award is to recognise someone who shares Theatres Trust's belief that everyone should have access to theatre and live performance no matter where they live or what their background is.
Champion of community theatres
"There is no one in the public eye who embodies this spirit more than Julie Hesmondhalgh. Julie has used her platform as one of the country's most beloved actors to bang the drum for inclusive and equitable access to the performing arts and champion important community theatres. We are thrilled that she is going to accept this award."
Many will know Hesmondhalgh for playing Coronation Street's Hayley Cropper for more than 15 years, but in recent years she has been instrumental in campaigning for theatres including Oswaldtwistle Civic Arts Centre and Theatre, and Oldham Coliseum. She has backed a long-running campaign to secure the future of the Greater Manchester venue, which is expected to reopen in 2027 after receiving an additional £7m to remove asbestos and repair structural defects.
While the theatre is closed, operators Oldham Coliseum Theatre Limited have continued to put on events across the borough. After Arts Council England's annual funding was pulled in 2022, the theatre was once threatened with closure and at one point had just one member of staff.
Recognition from Oldham Coliseum CEO
Oldham Coliseum CEO Martina Murphy said: "Julie brings extraordinary heart, conviction and generosity to everything she does. She stood alongside the people of Oldham in campaigning for their theatre and continues to champion the northern and working-class voices that deserve to be heard on our stages and supported behind the scenes."
Murphy added: "As we work towards reopening, Julie shares our ambition for a Coliseum where local people can see themselves reflected, develop their talent and build a future in theatre. This award is richly deserved, and we're enormously proud to have her as part of our company."
Hesmondhalgh has also co-founded Manchester's award-winning Take Back Theatre, a grassroots, non-profit political theatre collective, alongside writer Becx Harrison (Rebekah Harrison), and visual artist Grant Archer. Currently she is starring on BBC's Celebrity Traitors, where she has already been deemed the "most trustworthy" contestant.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News earlier this year, she said that while she was not able to share any secrets from the show, it was an "extraordinary experience". When asked if she was a traitor or faithful, she quipped: "I'm not gonna tell you! I've got NDAs up to my eyeballs! If I'd tell you that I'd have to kill you! I can't tell you anything."
She added: "I can't tell you anything except that it's an extraordinary experience, and not at all what anybody imagined it to be. It's going to be a good one, I'll tell you that!"
