Coronation Street Blog: Jane Hazlegrove interview: Does Bernie make it down the aisle with Dev?

Is Bernie ready for some happiness as her wedding to Dev approaches?

Absolutely. This has been a love affair that’s been going on for a long time, her and Dev have propped each other up through quite a few things. He’s been a massive support to her. Obviously there’s a reason why she’s brought this wedding forward earlier than anticipated, but it’s a dream for her to marry this fabulous, handsome man.

Does she genuinely love Dev, or is she using the wedding purely as a scam to help Aadi pay his debts using Auntie Rani’s wedding money?

She’s absolutely nuts about Dev. He’s kind to her and I don’t think she’s had a lot of kindness from men over the years, she’s quite a complicated character and is very impulsive. But this is definitely an affair of the heart. It’s all genuine.

Is she confident in her and Aadi can pull off their scheme?

I think she’s pretty confident in all her harebrained schemes really, she doesn’t always see the consequences or the end result. I think she’s confident she can pull it off. She’s pretty optimistic, she’s got to be because she does come out with some interesting things and lurch from one mad, harebrained scheme to another, but she genuinely thinks they can pull it off.

Why didn’t she just come clean to Dev about Aadi’s predicament?

I don’t think that’s a viable option, and it’s a case of once you start swimming out. She's so far away from the shore that there’s no turning back really. It's not about her being secretive to Dev, she’s just trying to protect Aadi because he has made an absolute hash of things, hasn’t she? Bernie’s made enough mistakes herself and will always fight for the underdog, bless her.

How does Bernie feel when she finds out Dev’s got pole dancers at his stag in the Rovers?

She’s not best pleased! She has a really quiet, sedate hen-night to keep costs down. Auntie Rani is there, they’re not getting on particularly well. Bernie’s got Gemma there obviously ,and Nina and Shona and Mary. She’s finding Auntie Rani quite patronising and a little condescending so is desperately trying to keep those plates spinning. Glenda comes in and tells her there’s pole dancing in the Rovers, so Bernie goes and joins them!

Does this cause friction with Dev the night before the wedding?

It’s actually really good fun, and was really good fun to film as well, as you can imagine. Bernie is not the only one pole dancing, that’s all I’m saying!

How does Bernie feel on the morning of the wedding?

She’s very nervous, very excited, she’s missing Paul, her Apollo, dreadfully – he should be walking her down the aisle. It’s a massive life changing moment. She’s not a woman who believes in marriage and sees it as a patriarchal conceit, which is what she’s said all along. For her to smash those principles it’s a massive day, and to be marrying this respectable guy in the community.

She forgets the locket with Paul’s picture in so goes home to get it, and disturbs a

burglar…

Somebody has broken into the house. Bernie decides she’s going to stand up to them, then it's revealed who it is… It gives Bernie food for thought and something to sort out, and not exactly what she needs before she’s about to go and say I do.

She eventually makes it to the bistro for the wedding, does Kit walk her down the aisle?

Bernie is over the moon Kit is there but he doesn’t walk her down the aisle because he’s still injured from the stabbing. Bernie walks herself down the aisle, or should I say she raves herself down the aisle, she’s got this bonkers music playing and kind of dances down the aisle herself! it’s quite a sight to behold, I enjoyed playing it and hope the audience enjoy watching it because it was fun to do!

Bernie collapses as she and Dev are about to exchange vows, what can you tell us about that?

Suddenly Bernie can’t breathe, the poor love, and ends up in A&;E. Dev, and a lot of people, think she’s on her way out because it's quite serious. She is really frightened, this has come from nowhere and she can’t breathe. It' s terrifying. Is she going to be okay?

Was that a hard scene to film, going from light-hearted to tragic?

That’s what is so brilliant about Coronation Street, you don’t know what you’re going to get until you open the page of the script and that’s what is so fantastic about how it plays out – we’ve got this woman raving down the aisle and the next minute she’s in casualty, pardon the pun! The writers throw all kinds of things at you and you just hope and pray you give credence and justice to whatever they’ve written. Who knows what Bernie is going to do next, that’s why I love playing her.

Glenda Young

Bestselling novelist published by Headline