Actress Julie Hesmondhalgh, known for her role as Hayley Cropper on Coronation Street, is participating in the second series of Celebrity Traitors. The show, hosted by Claudia Winkleman, returned on Thursday evening (October 1) with a lineup including Ross Kemp, James Blunt, and Rob Beckett, all competing for up to £100,000 for their chosen charities.
Marriage to Ian Kershaw
Julie, 56, is married to actor and screenwriter Ian Kershaw, with whom she shares two daughters. The couple met on the Corrie set in 1998 during Julie's debut as Hayley Cropper, while Ian was playing Malcolm Bradford. Ian has since appeared in two other roles on the programme as Duncan Stott and Mick Crompton, and has written for EastEnders, Casualty, Corrie, and Holby City.
Between 1998 and 1999, Ian played PC Garratt in BBC's Casualty before portraying Simon in ITV's Fat Friends. He also had roles in Heartbeat, Hollyoaks, Emmerdale, and Clocking Off.
Whirlwind Romance
Speaking to The Irish Mirror, Julie recounted the early days of their relationship: "It was on my first week of Corrie, he was an actor then but now is a writer, in fact, he writes for Corrie. We became really good pals, then we went out one night for a mate's birthday, and we had been full-on flirting all night."
She added: "At the end of it I said, 'I'm going to marry you', he laughed, and we kissed. He was going for an audition the next day, and I texted him saying, 'I hope you get this job today, because I will expect to be kept in the manner I've become accustomed to when we get married and have our two kids'."
"He texted back saying, 'What do you want from me! ?' I said, 'Not much, just a top wedding and kid by next Christmas!' He answered, saying, 'Martha or Arthur?'. Our Martha was born by the next Christmas."
Hayley Cropper's Storyline
On Coronation Street, Hayley received a pancreatic cancer diagnosis in July 2013 following a CT scan. After an operation to remove her tumour, she learned from the oncologist that her cancer was incurable. Given six months to a year to live, Hayley chose to take her own life before her illness worsened. She and her husband Roy Cropper (David Neilson) shared their final Christmas in 2013 before Hayley consumed a fatal mixture of medications.
Hayley was the first transgender character featured in a British soap opera. The role earned Julie the Best Serial Drama Performance award at the 2014 National Television Awards and Best Actress at the 2014 British Soap Awards.
Career After Corrie
Since leaving Coronation Street, Julie has appeared in Broadchurch, Catastrophe, Happy Valley, and Mr Bates vs The Post Office. She also secured the 2026 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance as Joan in the production Punch.
Julie has joined the Call the Midwife cast for the prequel Sisters in Arms, playing Sister Alice in the period piece set in 1939 during World War Two. The Celebrity Traitors airs on Thursday and Friday nights at 8pm on BBC One.
