Reid played Valerie Barlow on the soap between 1961 and 1971.
Star of The Sixth Commandment Anne Reid may now be best known for her roles in series such as Last Tango in Halifax and dinnerladies – but she first made her name playing Valerie Barlow, the first wife of Ken Barlow, on Coronation Street.
Reid appeared on the show between 1961 and 1971, but has now revealed, while speaking with Radio Times magazine, that she struggled to get roles following her departure from the series.
When asked whether she felt she had “arrived” when starring on the soap, Reid said: “Yes, but there was a hangover afterwards – people think you’re a bit downmarket for doing Corrie.
“I get much better roles now, but it’s a bit late. I would have loved to have done some Alan Ayckbourn or Noël Coward, but I didn’t fight for it. If I lived again, I would. I didn’t have the confidence – but now I do!”
Reid said that the turning point came when she starred in Victoria Wood’s sitcom dinnerladies, as “people realised I could do comedy and Vic got huge viewing figures for everything she did”.
Reid has since gone on to feature in series including Doctor Who, Upstairs, Downstairs, Inside No. 9, Years and Years and Sanditon, the latter of which will soon be returning for its third and final season.
Reid has most recently been seen in The Sixth Commandment playing Ann Moore-Martin, the real-life figure who was the second person to be targeted by Ben Field, a younger man who aimed to get close to her in order to be included in her will.
Reid said of playing Moore-Martin: “There’s a tremendous responsibility in playing somebody who was a real person… I’ve never taken a role before where I had to play somebody whose relatives are still alive, and that’s a huge responsibility.”
