star Julie Hesmondhalgh is one of the best known faces in Soapland after playing Hayley Cropper for nearly 20 years.
Julie first appeared as trans woman Hayley in 1998 – the first transgender character in a British soap – and was killed off in 2014 after a battle with terminal pancreatic cancer. She became part of a hard-hitting right to die storyline when she took her own life, assisted by her husband
Since then, Julie has starred in everything from Broadchurch to , along with an episode of dark comedy Inside No. 9. Her role as Sylvia Lancaster in a dramatised version of Sophie Lancaster’s murder for Four won her a Royal Television Society Award for Best Female Actor in a Drama.
But what about her life away from the world of telly?
Julie – a member of the Labour Party – is married to her co-star Ian Kershaw. The pair tied the knot in 2005 and went on to welcome two daughters together.
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Julie played Hayley Cropper for nearly 20 years (Image: ITV)
Ian has been a writer for for years, but also held a small acting role on the cobbles. He played Malcolm Bradford, and quickly became pals with Julie behind the scenes. When they finally attended a pal’s birthday party together, sparks flew.
Julie declared she would marry Ian one day and the pair shared a snog, with Julie admitting to Notebook magazine: “I moved in with him on the following Wednesday and I was pregnant within six weeks. We went on a road trip across America and I did a pregnancy test on Santa Barbara pier.”
She shared some flirty exchanges in their early days, admitting: “He was going for an audition the next day and I texted him saying, ‘I hope you get this job today, because I will expect to be kept in the manner I’ve become accustomed to when we get married and have our two kids.’
Julie Hesmondhalgh met her co-star husband on the Corrie set (Image: ITV)
“He texted back saying, ‘What do you want from me!?’ I said, ‘Not much, just a top wedding and kid by next Christmas!’ He answered saying, ‘Martha or Arthur?’ Our Martha was born by the next Christmas.”
Outside of her tragic cancer story as Hayley, cancer has also affected Julie in real life. Her niece Rosa battled a rare form of ovarian cancer aged 23, and Julie helped her write an autobiographical play while she was still in hospital.
Rosa faced gruelling rounds of chemotherapy after discovering a tumour in her ovary which had spread to the surrounding tissue. Thankfully, Julie was an “amazing” support throughout the ordeal, and Rosa debuted her play two years later.
Julie supported her niece through a cancer ordeal (Image: Getty)
Rosa said: “When I got ill, as every family member was, Julie was straight to my bedside. And she was doing a play at the time, and she took time off to come and see me in hospital in London – the play was in
“She has always been the most solid, supportive, loving woman, and she is to everyone, not just her family members.”
In 2018, Julie became a patron for a campaign, helping to raise awareness and funds to research the UK’s fifth biggest cancer killer.