Actress Julie Hesmondhalgh has said she found motherhood “a struggle” and has a lot of regrets about how she sometimes responded to her daughters. The 56-year-old, who appeared on the current series of Celebrity Traitors, opened up about the challenges of raising her two children, whom she shares with her husband, writer Ian Kershaw.
Balancing Work and Family Life
Speaking to Good Housekeeping UK, Hesmondhalgh said: “I found a lot of motherhood a struggle. Balancing my own life and work with motherhood was tricky at times. I have a lot of regrets about losing my rag with my kids. I took things too personally; I felt like they were almost trying to make my life difficult, which obviously they weren’t. They were just children.”
The actress, best known for playing Hayley Cropper on Coronation Street from 1998 until 2014, also discussed her time on Celebrity Traitors. She said she was “so chuffed” to be asked to appear because she is “obsessed” with the series, but her time on the show ended early after she was banished from the castle by her fellow faithfuls.
Friendships Forged on Celebrity Traitors
Hesmondhalgh left the show with newly forged friendships, including with comedian Romesh Ranganathan, whom she described as one of the “greatest human beings”. She said: “The extraordinary thing is that you’re all on the same footing. There’s no status at all. You have these accelerated friendships because there’s a lot of time off-camera when you’re travelling in cars together and aren’t allowed to discuss the game. People tell you about their lives; I found out so much about people and I was really touched that they trusted me. Romesh is one of the greatest human beings. We were in there right at the start, alongside Ross Kemp. The three of us were a very unlikely little threesome. I adored Ross, too.”
The actress is also known for Broadchurch and played Suzanne Sercombe, partner to Toby Jones’ Alan Bates in the ITV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, about the Horizon IT scandal. She left Coronation Street in 2014 and said she has “no regrets” about leaving, though it sometimes feels strange to see so many of the same cast and crew names in the credits.
Hayley and Roy's Love Story
One of the key storylines Hesmondhalgh played out on the soap followed the relationship between her character Hayley and Roy Cropper, played by David Neilson. She said their love story “was important” and “got people talking”, adding that Roy was originally meant to leave Hayley after she came out as trans. She said: “Everybody loved the relationship. It became a key storyline almost by accident, which was the best way, because it wasn’t an issue that was shoehorned in. I maintain that Hayley and Roy’s love story was important. It got people talking. It’s so upsetting that trans rights have now gone backwards.”
The full interview can be read in Good Housekeeping’s December issue, on sale from October 22.
