I can't express how happy I am to be blogging this about our friend Annie - at last.
Last night in Manchester, a 50-year-old woman from Aberdeen was
speaking on a panel at a Manchester Pride's Superbia event – Transcript.
The panel also included Corrie scriptwriters Damon Rochefort and Ben Tagoe, actors Bruno Langley (Todd Grimshaw) and Daniel Brocklebank (Billy the vicar), actress Julie Hesmondhalgh (Hayley Cropper) and
Cucumber actress Bethany Black.
But never mind them, back to the Aberdeen woman! She's called Annie Wallace and blogger Tvor and I have been friends with her for over 16 years. Annie was brought in to Coronation Street in 1998 as a research assistant to Julie Hesmondhalgh – who played Hayley for 16 years.
As the inspiration for Coronation Street's Hayley, Annie last night spoke publicly for the first time about being transgender.
Annie reflected that Hayley was 'like a sister to her', and said: “It is still difficult for me to speak about it and at first trans activists were against Hayley. I spent two and a half hours with researchers having all of my hopes and dreams and fears put on cassette tapes. It was transcribed and given to all the writers at the time as their bible. I started looking at draft scripts. I wasn't telling Julie how to play a character, this was just about detail and putting full-stops and crossing ts.”
Julie says Annie was 'absolutely essential' for her portrayal of Hayley, especially with the huge secrecy surrounding the first introduction of a transgender character on the Cobbles.
The Accrington-born actress said: “When I was researching Hayley I couldn't ask anyone in the transgender community because it was so top secret. I was able to do a bit of reading but this was 1997. Annie helped me to believe that I was on the right track, even if I wasn't representing every trans person in the country, I was representing her. What she did with the writers and the researching was absolutely vital. So much of Hayley was based on Annie – they share the same birthday and has so many of Annie's characteristics – like her love of rock music.
"I owe Annie so much.”
Julie and Annie are planning to write a two-woman show together about what Hayley has meant to them, which they hope to run at Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
And Annie, who is now an actress in her own right, said: "Watch this space!"
Read the full story, and see all the pics at the Manchester Evening News.
Read our exclusive interview from 2014 with Annie Wallace.
Relive Roy and Hayley's romance in A Perfect Duet - the diary of Roy and Hayley Cropper.
Download our free App | Follow on Twitter @CoroStreetBlog | Like on Facebook | Visit Corrie.net
All original work on the Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License
Wednesday 26 August 2015
Meet Annie Wallace - the inspiration for Corrie's Hayley Cropper
Labels:
annie wallace,
hayley cropper,
newsnow
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
You might also like...
-
Here are the major storylines for the week ahead on Coronation Street, all wrapped up nicely in 50 words or less. Monday 13 May to Friday 17...
-
Monday 6th May 2024 LIAM STEALS PAUL’S SECRET STASH Liam and Joseph settle down to watch the film. When Joseph asks Liam if things have im...
-
Paul has a father - who knew? Well, obviously there was someone because otherwise - well you know - but in all seriousness why would he sud...
-
Friday 3rd May 2024 DENNY LEAVES PAUL IN HIS TIME OF NEED Bernie lets off steam to Dev about Denny, secretly worried that Denny might blab a...
-
Here are the major storylines for the week ahead on Coronation Street, all wrapped up nicely in 50 words or less. Monday 6 May to Friday 10 ...
-
Wednesday 8th May 2024 BETHANY’S PAST COMES BACK TO HAUNT HER Bobby, Max, Bethany and Beth gather in the precinct to watch the police recons...
-
Wednesday 1st May 2024 BERNIE TELLS A FATAL LIE TO GET RID OF DENNY Paul, Billy and Gemma are blown away by the MND crowdfunder, sure it wil...
-
How did Denny's appearance affect Bernie? It absolutely shook her to the core! She was completely surprised to see him and it was not a ...
-
How’s Nick feeling as Leanne becomes more invested in the institute? I think what's happening here is Leanne’s emotional withdrawal fro...
-
So last week introduced two new characters, both portrayed by actors who've played other parts on t'cobbles in the past, both with...
4 comments:
I am so ridiculously proud of our friend Annie!!! She's a top woman and a real star and a joy to have as a friend.
I'm bursting with pride too!
Tears from a chauvinist never too old to learn. This is a good example of how Corrie, not just entertained, but made me a better person, including this wonderful site. With humility, thanks.
Lovely to see the inspiration for our beloved Hayley! We're lucky she agreed to share her ideas. Ta for the blog and link.
Post a Comment