I'd have been lynched if I talked posh in Accrington

From playing soap's first trans character to dramatising the Post Office scandal, Julie Hesmondhalgh has always enjoyed challenging social issues. Now she wants to create new chances for young talent without access to the 'old boys' network'

- Karen Rockett

ORMER Coronation Street actress Julie Hesmondhalgh, best known for her role as Hayley Cropper in the ITV soap, may be a familiar face on our television screens - but she is definitely not your typical actress type: she's not skinny, she's not young and she's not posh.

Her recent role in Mr Bates vs The Post Office, playing postmaster Alan Bates' longterm partner Suzanne Sercombe opposite Toby Jones, cemented her public image as an ordinary, decent, northern middle-aged woman.

"Mr Bates was the sort of TV drama that I would have been very jealous of if I hadn't been in it," Julie smiles today. "Its impact was incredible." But beyond the ordinary facade, the 55-year-old's roles on television and stage are more often than not linked to challenging injustice and tackling important social issues.

In January 1998, Julie made her debut on Coronation Street as the first transgender character in a British soap opera.

Her portrayal as kind-hearted Hayley in her famous red anorak, who later married cobbles resident Roy Cropper, played by David Neilson, cut through initial opposition from some viewers.

Julie went on to be nominated as Most Popular Actress at the 1999 National Television Awards.

In fact, her 16-year stint on the show became so impactful that she and the Coronation Street writers were heralded in Parliament for changing public attitudes towards trans people. Today, she calls it "one of the proudest moments" of her life.

Julie also won Best Serial Drama Performance at the 2014 National Television Awards and Best Actress at the 2014 British Soap Awards for her performance in the moving right-to-die storyline, as Hayley battled pancreatic cancer.

And away from the soap, she earned a Bafta nomination for playing rape victim Trish Winterman in series three of ITV drama Broadchurch.