Corrie’s Bernie Winter star Jane Hazelgrove opens up over ‘upset’ on set – ‘It’s extremely tough’
Coronation Street stars Alison King, Sally Carman, Jane Hazlegrove and others open up about the soap’s upcoming storylines – and their close friendships on the cobbles
Throughout Coronation Street’s 60-year history, female characters – and the actresses who play them – have taken centre stage on the cobbles. That’s truer than ever this month when lies are exposed and love is tested among nine key women in Weatherfield.
One woman who’s had a tough time lately is Carla Connor (Alison King). Her hubby Peter has left the country, she’s had to deal with the arrival of her nephew Bobby and her close pal Roy being imprisoned, but as Ali says, she’s not beaten yet.
“She’s in control of her life again, she’s fiery and she’s not taking any nonsense from anybody,” she says. “I think she tries to grow as a person but ultimately her core is fiery and fearless.
“She’s vulnerable, she can be frightened of things but she attacks things face-on which gives me brilliant storylines because she either gets into trouble or she does the right thing. The viewers understand she’s going to go off the rails, but she’ll come back again.”
Sally Carman, who plays Abi Webster, is another cast member who loves the darker storylines. Abi’s grief over her son Seb’s murder recently reared its head when a documentary was made featuring Seb’s killer, Corey, followed by deep-fake videos of her circulating online.
“It’s really rocked her, she thought that she was just getting back on the straight and narrow, finally everything had settled down, she was coming to terms with Seb’s death and trying to look to the future,” she says. “But then this comes along and just shakes the ground.”
Each of the actresses in the soap have juicy storylines to sink their teeth into this month – from Leanne Battersby’s (Jane Danson) involvement with cult The Institute and sister Toyah (Georgia Taylor) growing closer to Leanne’s fiancé Nick, to Dee-Dee Bailey’s (Channique Sterling-Brown) reaction to boyfriend Joel’s proposal and Maria Connor (Samia Longchambon) coping with the aftermath of her son Liam’s bullying.
And let’s not forget Bethany (Lucy Fallon) and her mum Sarah Platt (Tina O’Brien), who have to deal with the fact that Bethany’s abuser Nathan is out of prison, and Bernie Winter (Jane Hazlegrove) is faced with the boy she gave up for adoption at a time that son Paul needs her the most.
“It’s extremely tough to play, but we get to take these characters off and are fortunate to only be acting it rather than living with this horrible disease,” Jane Hazlegrove says of playing a mum whose son has MND. “It’s upsetting to film, but we all look out for each other and I’m surrounded by people who have a terrific sense of humour.”
All the actresses talk of the support they receive from each other and the crew on the set of Coronation Street. “The women on the cast, the women on the crew, all these brilliant women just seem to gravitate to this building, there are some real diamonds here regardless of what area they work in,” says Sally.
“Solid, brilliant, awesome women and that for me has just been the best. I know I could call on any one of these women on this shoot if I needed help, someone to celebrate with me or be there for me. Making lifelong friendships and getting to work with people who you’d be happy to be stuck on a desert island with makes it such a brilliant place.”
Jane Danson adds, “We’ve all done life and grown up together which has been lovely. I know it’s a massive cliché to say we’re like one big family, but honestly, it really is!”
