Julie Hesmondhalgh shot to fame playing Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street from 1998 until 2014, when her alter-ego tragically past away in some of the show's most emotional scenes to date. And while husband Roy was left devastated after her death, Julie has revealed how she is now keeping an eye on her on-screen husband away from the soap. Talking to HELLO! at the BAFTA TV awards on Sunday night, Julie revealed: "I still watch Coronation Street and my husband Ian Kershaw recently joined the writing team so I have an infiltrator to make sure that Roy is alright."
Julie Hesmondhalgh is making sure Roy Cropper is looked after in Coronation Street
The actress – who also starred in Broadchurch as rape victim Trish Winterman – also said that she was looking forward to meeting up with her former cast mates at the star-studded event. "It will be great to catch up with them, I will be on the look out for them later and cheering for them," she said. Coronation Street were among the soaps up for Best Soap and Continuing Drama, and faced competition from Emmerdale, Hollyoaks and Casualty – who took away the prestigious award.
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The talented actress was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Broadchurch
Julie herself was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her harrowing performance in Broadchurch, alongside Anna Friel in Broken, Liv Hill in Three Girls and winner Vanessa Kirby in The Crown. Julie teased that she is currently working on upcoming projects, that she "wasn’t allowed to reveal, annoyingly." Quietly confident, the 48-year-old has previously spoken about her decision to leave Coronation Street, and how she felt "very lucky" to go on to work on such incredible series.
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Talking to Inside Soap, Julie said of her decision to leave: "I figured I might end up doing regional theatre and the odd bit of TV, but I was fine with that. But then when Coronation Street gave me that amazing exit storyline, I felt things shift and I thought that it might be a springboard into more high profile work. I’ve been very lucky."