Dame Joanna Lumley is back on screens tonight, reprising her role from Motherland as the snobbish Felicity in the spin-off show Amandaland.
This is the latest in a long line of memorable roles throughout her decades-long career. She first rose to prominence playing Purdey in The New Avengers and went on to create the iconic role of Patsy Stone in Absolutely Fabulous, but before either of those, she was briefly a resident of Weatherfield.
The 78-year-old star joined soap in 1973 as Elaine Perkins, the girlfriend of Ken Barlow (played by William Roche).
Although best known as a blonde, she sported long brunette hair in the show, looking a million miles away from her Ab Fab persona. She only appeared in eight episodes and made quite an impression on Ken when he proposed to her.
But Elaine’s future, or Joanna’s, was not destined to be in Weatherfield, and she turned him down. , she claimed that the public hated her for breaking his heart.
:
Joanna Lumley played Elaine Perkins, a love interest for Ken Barlow in Coronation Street in 1973 (Image: ITV)
“Ken Barlow proposed to me and my character said no!” she exclaimed indignantly on her friend Gyles Brandreth’s . “I said, ‘Couldn’t she just say yes and I could be in [the soap] for more than eight episodes?’ They said, ‘No, you’re just an interim, we’re going on with someone far more important than you!'” Joanna claimed.
“I said, ‘But I could stay! Do I really have to say, ‘It’s so boring living in ?’ Do I have to say that?’ They said, ‘Yes you do’ and of course the public hate me!” she groaned.
“I’d just turned down Ken Barlow and I’d said it’s boring living in . I’d thought my life was rock bottom.”
Joanna’s character then had to brand Ken Barlow (played by Bill Roache) a “provincial twit” after he confessed his love for her and accused her of being “permissive” with other men.
Her alter ego sneeringly dismissed his proposal and was never seen in Weatherfield again, much to her disappointment.
Don’t miss… [EXCLUSIVE] [EXCLUSIVE] [EXCLUSIVE]
Joannna Lumley plays Felicity, mother of the titular Amanda (Lucy Punch) in Amandaland (Image: BBC)
Following her stint on the soap and the public backlash Joanna resorted to catalogue modelling to make a living, which was also a disappointment. “I know it sounds like a snooty thing to say because catalogue work is great, but as a model, it was rock bottom!” she confided in Gyles.
However, just three years later she landed her big break in The New Avengers playing Purdey, creating an iconic haircut in the process, but the high profile role didn’t enhance her bank balance.
“I thought it would change my money. It didn’t. It was really mean, they got me on a five-year contract and they said, ‘The first two years are rock bottom. After that, it begins to soar. By the end of it, you will own Scotland!'” she exclaimed. “I thought, ‘This is the job for me.’ What they didn’t tell me is that they planned to stop the show after two years!” Joanna joked.
Ironically she went on to become Mrs Barlow in real life when she married conductor Stephen Barlow in 1986.