Julie Hesmondhalgh, best known for her groundbreaking role as Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street, has revealed she was a 'borderline alcoholic' and that a recent taxi ride reinforced her decision to give up alcohol.
The actress, who is appearing in the latest series of Celebrity Traitors, told an interviewer that she had 'absolutely cringed' during the journey when the taxi driver mentioned he had driven her somewhere before. She apologised, saying she was 'sorry if [she] was horrible', reasoning that there was a 'good chance' she could have been in a 'total state' if the encounter had happened before she went sober.
Growing Up in the Eighties and Nineties
Hesmondhalgh elaborated on her relationship with alcohol, saying: 'It's hard when you've grown up in the eighties and nineties as a working-class northerner because it was such a big part of the culture.'
She added: 'The thought of driving somewhere and not being able to have a drink was just anathema to me, but some of my worst experiences in life have involved alcohol.'
Speaking to The Times about what eventually pushed her to stop drinking, she said: 'And then, in 2018, my niece got ovarian cancer and that really, really rocked me, that shook me to my core.'
Reflecting on Celebrity Traitors
Hesmondhalgh was eliminated early from Celebrity Traitors, admitting: 'I have to say it's harder than I thought.'
She explained: 'I know how intense these experiences can be, and I know that in the business, especially when you're doing a play or a TV series, you make accelerated friendships. There's no small talk, you're straight in with the big stuff. You bond with people and connect with people very quickly, so, when you get thrown under the bus…I was ready for it, but it was a bit hard.'
She added: 'The fact that I thought that in any universe I could be a Traitor is ridiculous – I knew I didn't have it in me. If Claudia had picked me, I would have been terrible, because they'd say, right, who shall we murder? And I would have been like, I can't let somebody like Ross with his big puppy eyes get murdered tonight, or Sharon, absolutely not!'
A Legendary Coronation Street Story
Hesmondhalgh played Hayley Cropper, the first full-time transgender character in any soap. After a first date with Roy Cropper (David Neilson), he initially broke things off after learning she was a trans woman, but later realised his mistake, and the two became a legendary soap couple. They had a blessing ceremony because the UK did not legally recognise transgender people's true gender at the time and did not allow them to marry.
After fostering Fiz Dobbs (Jennie McAlpine), Hayley's feud with Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford) began when Tracy drugged Roy, claimed she was pregnant, and sold the baby to the couple before revealing the child was actually Steve McDonald's (Simon Gregson).
After the discovery and rejection of her son, Hayley went to Africa for volunteer work, returning to marry Roy after the law changed. Tragically, when Hesmondhalgh decided to leave the show, producers created a pancreatic cancer storyline. After gruelling chemotherapy, Hayley was told the cancer was terminal. She decided she wanted to die with dignity and control, telling Roy she intended to take her own life. He disapproved but stayed by her side. Hayley took a lethal cocktail of medication at home, dying in Roy's arms.
