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Hayley’s red anorak has become her trademark!

‘Why Hayley’s BREAKING my heart’ Corrie actress Julie Hesmondhalgh, who plays Hayley Cropper, chats to Yours about her most challenging, and final, storyline yet 14

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❙ star chat ❙

I

n the 15-and-a-half years Julie Hesmondhalgh has been in Coronation Street, her much loved character Hayley Cropper has been involved in some of the soap’s most compelling and groundbreaking storylines. There was her arrival in the Street as a pre-operative male-to-female transsexual in the first place, then the subsequent gender realignment surgery; her relationship and eventual marriage to Roy; the abduction of one of their foster children; her involvement in the ‘Underworld’ factory siege, and the discovery that she’d fathered a son in her youth when she was still living as man. But her latest ‘line’ is arguably the most emotional and intense of all – and certainly the saddest. After a number of medical tests, Hayley has just received the devastating news that she has pancreatic cancer – the most deadly form of the disease.

“It is stage two pancreatic cancer,” Julie (42) explains. “Hayley doesn’t really understand what this means and it doesn’t sink in at first. She has to have a small operation to clear her bile duct, which is what is making her tired and jaundiced, and then she has to have the big operation to remove the tumour, if they can. Obviously it’s a massive shock.”

But Julie herself wasn’t that surprised when she was told about the storyline. “It’s what I expected, to be honest. I knew that ultimately I would have to be written out of the show because I’m leaving at the end of the year and I knew that the story would Hayley and hubby Roy (David Neilson) will face her cancer together

have to honour Hayley and Roy’s relationship. Because of the unique nature of their bond, she couldn’t just up and leave.”

The tragic reality is that only two out of ten people who are diagnosed with stage two pancreatic cancer are living a healthy life five years on.

The odds are very much then that, ultimately, Hayley will pass away at the end of the year.

Julie admits that she was inconsolable the first time she read through the scripts. “I was heartbroken – obviously Hayley isn’t me, yet she is a massive part of me and has been for more than 15 years.

I’ve had to have a word with myself at times because when you play a storyline like this it can be quite hard to shake off – both mentally

‘The decision to hang up Hayley’s red anorak was a tough one’ and physically. To play a part well, sometimes you have to trick your body into thinking that is how you’re feeling, but you then have to remind yourself that you are acting; one night I was walking up the stairs slightly stooped and I had to remind myself that I wasn’t ill.”

Heartbreaking as it is to play, Julie feels honoured to have been given such a challenging storyline.

“Cancer is something that affects everyone,” she explains. “This is a chance to go through something that has touched pretty much the whole population in one way or another. It’s universal. It’s a very sad situation but we’ll see Roy and Hayley muddling through. There are moments where it is heartbreaking, but it’s not all weepy.

They have their highs and lows but it’s not without its comedy. For the most part it’s just Roy and Hayley dealing with it in their unique way.”

And that includes not thinking the worst. “Hayley is a very sunny and positive person,” Julie insists. “She’s not in denial about the prognosis but

neither is she constantly in tears and thinking the worst. She’s actually OK and takes the news in a sanguine kind of way.

“From speaking to people who’ve been given this type of news, your initial reaction when something like this happens is not always what you’d imagine. The human spirit is an incredible thing and a lot of people say they feel a sense of euphoria. I guess you start to think, ‘I will be a survivor, I can do this’. The Coronation Street writers know Hayley as well as I do and they’ve always written brilliantly for her. I think they got this kind of euphoria exactly right and it’s what I hoped they’d do. Hayley’s reaction is not how it would be for everyone, but I think it was spot-on for her. The way she’ll cope with it is by living life to the full and by trying to carry on as normally as possible.”

However Hayley’s husband, Roy, is reacting very differently.

“He goes into full research mode and makes her drink herbal tea and eat broccoli,” Julie says. “Hayley gets really fed up with him but that’s just his way of coping; we go straight into Roy and Hayley mode so it’s not all doom and gloom.”

Work for Julie will be full on until the end of the year – won’t she feel bereft when she actually leaves the Street for good?

“I’ve had the most wonderful and happy time in the life-changing years I’ve been in Corrie and I owe so much to the show and the special team that make it happen,” she smiles.

“The decision to hang up Hayley’s red anorak was a tough one, but doing a play at the Royal Exchange in Manchester last year made me realise there’s life in the old dog yet and there are other things I want to try. Whatever happens next I’ll always be proudest of the lovely Mrs Cropper, what we achieved in changing attitudes to transgender and in portraying ✢ Coronation possibly the most Street is on loving, faithful and Mondays, steadfast couple Wednesdays and in soap history!

Fridays on ITV1.

I’ll always be the show’s biggest fan.”

PIC: INSIDE SOAP/SCOPE FEATURES; ITV; ITV/REX FEATUREST

By Alison James

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❙ strap strap ❙

By Ruth Addicott

S

andra Mark was looking forward to retiring from her job as a primary school headteacher, “Not because I wanted to take it easy – I had plans!” Those plans included the challenge of seeing if she could turn her new hobby of thread painting into pictures that people would want to buy.

Sandra (62), a grandma of four from Shildon, County Durham, had turned to this combination of art and sewing after previously running her own clothes design business in the Seventies.

Operating as Trucker Designs, she ended up making outfits for Elton John, among others.

“They were always very bright, flamboyant and glittery; he never wore an outfit more than once,” she remembers. “There was a full length cape with a big flash across the front and another one with black piano keys across it.”

Sandra made 42 jackets for him in total and met him several times. “He was very polite and a really nice chap. I don’t think he realised at that point how famous he was going to become.”

Being creative with needle and thread went on the back burner as Sandra followed her other dream, teaching, which she did for 19 years. But she kept her 35 yearold sewing machine – a Singer Futura – and one day, inspired by a photograph of the Yorkshire Dales taken by husband Albert,

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Painting

with NEEDLE and thread Inspired by her mum’s artistry with a sewing machine, Sandra Mark, a retired teacher with rheumatoid arthritis, has discovered a unique talent for creating art with her needle

she began experimenting...

“I feel at home behind a sewing machine; if I had a paintbrush in my hand, I think I’d freeze,” she says. “I like the works to be seen as an art rather than a craft. Most people don’t realise the pictures are sewn until they look a little more closely.”

Her pictures are all based on a sketch or photo, and Sandra says it’s a way of capturing a memory, whether an iconic landmark such as Durham Cathedral or just a beautiful view. Using silk and different threads to reflect the light, colour and shape, she changes the thread up to 300 times during each picture. Each picture can take from five days to six weeks to complete.

“I use silk because it’s strong and doesn’t tear,” says Sandra.

“I stretch the silk on a frame and then move the frame to create the stitches in the directions I want them to go in. It’s really effective because it makes the pictures look three-dimensional. By the time I’ve reached the foreground there are perhaps six layers of threads and you can physically feel it’s a lot thicker.”

The paintings have helped Sandra cope with the unexpected upheaval brought about by

Sandra inherited her creative skills as a youngster from her mum developing the debilitating immune condition rheumatoid arthritis (RA) not long before she retired.

“It’s an awful disease – people think it’s just pain in the joints but it is so much worse than that.”

To cope she takes painkillers and steroids and finds working at her machine takes her mind off the constant pain she has in her hands and hips. Due to her condition, Sandra can only sew for two hours at a time, but the enjoyment she gets from seeing a finished piece makes it all worthwhile.

Determined not to let RA stop her living her life, Sandra has even bought an ex-racehorse – Robbie – and finds, amazingly, that when she is in the saddle, the pain goes away.

What started as a hobby has now led to regular commissions Sandra’s works of art are based on photos or sketches and display an incredible degree of creativity

and her work being featured in local exhibitions.

Sandra also exhibits her work at art and craft fairs where originals sell for up to £250.

Sandra reckons she inherited her creative skills as a youngster from her mum, Doris, now 88. Doris made her living a seamstress and Sandra can remember sitting at her mum’s knee, barely big enough to see over the table and watching in complete awe as Doris turned fabric into dresses.

“I remember being about three or four and my mum was making a dress for a neighbour. She was cutting out the fabric on the floor and I picked up the scissors and cut right through the bodice of the dress. She had to turn it into a scoop neck line and insert rows of frills. I think that must have been my first design,” she laughs.

So it’s poignant that just recently Sandra has, despite her own illness, become Doris’s fulltime carer – limiting the amount of time she can spend on her own work. But her mum has always been one of Sandra’s biggest supporters and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Painting by thread is a wonderful form of therapy that takes me away from all the worry I may have,” smiles Sandra.

“I got my creative streak from my mum and now my eldest daughter, Alice, runs her own business – D’Arcy & Grimes – using vintage fabrics to make cushions, bags and throws. It looks like this is a family tradition – and I hope it will carry on.” ✢ For more information, or to buy Sandra’s designs, call 0751 5853686, or email Sandra on sandmark2009@yahoo.com YOURS

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PICS: SIMON RYDER/UNP

❙ Real life ❙

Style notes

Flattering

SUMMER TRO Forget boring black and embrace this year’s colourful new FASHION EDITOR LOVES

GREAT FOR PETITES

✢ Cropped

✢ Coloured

✢ Wide-leg

White top, £25, 10-18, Bhs; blue trousers, £20, 6-24, Marks & Spencer; pumps, £10, 3-7, George at Asda; green clutch bag, £30, Marisota; bangles, £8, Mood at Debenhams

White top, £25, 6-22, Marks & Spencer; jeans, £30, 12-32, Marisota; shoes, £79, 3-8, Hotter; bag, £45, Marisota; necklace, £16, Betty Jackson.Black at Debenhams

Pink top, £16, 8-20, Bhs; linen trousers, £45, 6-20, Autograph at Marks & Spencer; shoes, £79, 3-8, Hotter; bangle, £15, Principles by Ben de Lisi at Debenhams

HOORAY, THE SUMMER SALES ARE IN FULL SWING, which means some of these items may well be discounted by the time we go to press. This also means we can’t guarantee availability – so grab them quick!

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sty

Trouser style rules

ROUSERS

By Fashion Editor, Michelle Nightingale

styles – they’re super-comfortable, too!

✢ Don’t forget to wear nude-coloured underwear under light-toned trousers. ✢ Petites: be inspired by Audrey Hepburn and try cropped trousers teamed with pumps. ✢ Chinos are practically perfect paired with a simple blouse and comfy boat shoes. ✢ Prevent wide-legged trousers swamping your figure by wearing with a fitted top or a blouse neatly tucked in. ✢ If your bottom or thighs are your problem areas, avoid pale colours that show every lump and bump. ✢ Bootcut styles flatter hourglass and apple shapes, whereas straight or slim fitting styles suit tall and slim body shapes. ✢ Consider the shoes you want to wear your trousers with and have the hem length to suit.

EVENING LOOK

✢ Socks with pumps is a definite no – even if your trousers are floor skimming!

STOCKISTS: Bhs 0845 196 0000; Bonmarché 0845 202 4490; Debenhams 0844 561 6161; F&F at Tesco 0800 505 555; George at Asda 0800 952 0101; Hotter shoes 0800 083 8490; Laura Ashley 0871 983 5999; M&Co 0800 031 7200; Marisota 0871 984 6000; Marks & Spencer 0845 302 1234; Next 0844 844 8939

TREND INSPIRED

✢ Striped

✢ Palazzo

✢ Classic

Jacket, £28, 12-24, Bonmarché; top, £19, 12-32, Marisota; stripe trousers, £45, 8-18, Debenhams; white pumps, £6, 3-8, George at Asda; necklace, £12, M&Co; bag, £30, Next

Sleeveless blouse, £22.50, 6-24, Marks & Spencer; palazzo trousers, £16, 8-20, F&F at Tesco; shoes, £19.50, 3-8, Marks & Spencer; clutch bag, £16, Next; bracelet, £8, Mood at Debenhams

Orange blouse, £28, 8-22, Debenhams; trousers (with belt), £65, 8-20, Laura Ashley; shoes, £35, 3-8, Footglove at Marks & Spencer

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Now visit www.yours.co.uk for more great fashion advice

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Next issue: One slimming dress and six different looks!

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PHOTOGRAPHY RUTH JENKINSON; STYLIST JO WINCH; HAIR AND MAKE-UP SARAH JANE GREEN

w

✢ Team white trousers with a colourful top to stop them washing you out.

FIVE GREAT picnic ideas to try Fed up with making the same old sandwiches?

Try our satisfyingly scrumptious picnic ideas…

TOP TIP As well as cucumber, carrots and celery, why not try dipping pitta, crisps, or nachos?

Beetroot and Butterbean Houmous The dipping favourite but with a little twist – why not give it a go?

Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: none YOURS

Serves 6

Per serving 100 cals

Fat 5.7g

Sat fat 0.8g

■ 250g (83/4oz) cooked beetroot, dipped in vinegar (but not pickled) ■ 410g tin butterbeans, drained and rinsed ■ 1-2 cloves garlic, crushed ■ small bunch fresh chives, finely chopped

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(reserve a few for the garnish) ■ 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil ■ Salt and pepper 1. Chop the beetroot into small cubes and set aside in a medium bowl.

2. Blitz the butterbeans with

the garlic, chives and olive oil in a processor. Season to taste.

3. Transfer into the bowl with the beetroot and gently fold through to mix.

Spoon into a serving bowl, drizzle with a little extra olive oil and garnish with snipped chives. © www.lovebeetroot.co.uk

FOOD

notes

Baked Salmon Cheesecake This unusual dish provides a serving of wholegrain and health-boosting oily fish

Serves 6

Per serving 476 cals

Fat 11g

Sat fat 4g

Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 50 minutes ■ 150g (51/4oz) jumbo oats ■ 6 medium eggs ■ 25g (1oz) hard cheese, grated, eg Parmesan ■ 500g (1lb2oz) extra light soft cheese ■ 25g (1oz) plain flour ■ 100g (31/2oz) smoked salmon, chopped ■ 2 tbsp chopped chives 1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/375° F/Gas Mark 5, and line the base of a 21cm (8½in) loosebottomed cake tin with baking parchment.

2. Mix together the oats, 1 beaten egg, and TOP TIP hard cheese, and press into the base of the Delicious served cake tin. warm with salad if 3. Whisk the remaining eggs until thick you’re eating in and creamy. the garden 4. In a separate bowl, whisk the soft cheese and flour, then whisk in the eggs. Season to taste. Stir in the salmon and chives, then pour into the tin and bake for 50 minutes. © www.allaboutoats.com

Makes 12

Per muffin 233 cals

Fat 17g

Sat fat 7g

Strawberry and White Chocolate Muffins Get a homemade muffin just right and it’s the perfect picnic pud.

Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 25 minutes ■ 120g (41/4oz) butter ■ 120g (41/4oz) soft brown sugar ■ 150ml (51/4fl.oz) milk ■ 2 medium eggs ■ Seeds of one vanilla pod ■ 250g (83/4oz) plain flour ■ ½ tbsp baking powder ■ 60g (2oz) white chocolate buttons ■ 100g (31/2oz) strawberries, diced into small pieces

1. Pre-heat the oven to 170°C/360°F/Gas Mark 41/2. Place 12 muffin cases in a muffin tray.

2. Melt the butter in a saucepan with the sugar.

Mix well. Take off the heat and add the milk, eggs and vanilla.

3. Sift the flour and baking powder, then add to the mixture quite quickly, using just 10 strokes to fold in.

4. Stir in the chocolate buttons and strawberry pieces. Spoon the mixture into the muffin cases and bake for 25 minutes, until golden brown and springy to the touch.

5. Cool on a wire rack before serving. © www.sweetevestrawberry. co.uk

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0 DAYS OUT 1 BEST... of the

with the grandchildren

✢ Go for a ride

It can be tough keeping the little ones busy in the summer holidays – why not try one of our great days out? By Lizzy Dening ✢ Get twitching

While the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) Slimbridge Centre, Gloucester, has an enormous variety of birds visiting year-round – and cosy hides to spot them from – there’s much more to enjoy. Toad Hall has a selection of resident amphibians with daily talks and handling sessions, meet the colourful flock of flamingos, or take a canoe safari (until September) to hunt for water voles.

Call 01453 891900 or visit www.wwt.org.uk/visit/slimbridge

If wild rollercoasters aren’t your cup of tea there are more sedate theme parks to try. Legoland in Windsor has a range of activities for ages 3-12, from go-karts and spectacular models, to water rides and live shows.

Little ones won’t want to miss the new Duplo Valley either, which opened this May and boasts a train, water-play safari and a chance to become a pilot!

Call 0871 2222 001 or visit www.legoland.co.uk

Meanwhile, fairytale fans are sure to love Bewilderwood in Hoveton, Norfolk, a magical forest-based day out complete with treehouses, zip lines and storytelling guaranteed to fire up imaginations. Call 01692 633033 or visit www.bewilderwood.co.uk

✢ Get all of a flutter

Add a dash of colour to your summer with a visit to one of the UK’s various butterfly houses. Warm your cockles in the tropical surroundings of the Magic of Life Butterfly House, Aberystwyth, where you’ll meet hundreds of free-flying beauties, with exotic names such as scarlet swallowtail and Indonesian moon moth!

There are also a range of rare plants, sure to encourage a love of botany. Call 01970 880928 or visit www.magicoflife.org Seaforde Gardens, Northern Ireland, also boasts butterflies alongside parrots and reptiles, as well as Ireland’s oldest maze. Or climb the Moghul Tower and survey the walled garden from above. Call 0284 4811225 or visit www.seafordegardens.com

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✢ Have a toy story

✢ Lessons in fun

Cultivate a life-long interest in museums by starting with a topic that’s sure to appeal: toys. The Montacute Museum in Somerset has a wide range of vintage toys and games, as well as TV and radio nostalgia. Call

Vikingar! is an educational experience so enjoyable they won’t even realise they’re learning. An historical experience through smell, sound and stories from real Vikings, the centre boasts beautiful views over the Firth of Clyde, as well as leisure facilities including a swimming pool. Based in the coastal town of Largs, it’s open all year round. For more information call

01935 823024 or visit www. montacutemuseum.co.uk.

The West Wales Museum of Childhood, in Pen-ffynnon has an old-fashioned schoolroom scene, alongside themed displays for dolls, teddies and doll houses. Call

✢ See the sea

For a new perspective on our coastlines, lighthouses are a marvellous day out for those bold enough to take on a tall, spiral staircase! Many aren’t open year-round, so it’s worth checking before you head out.

True enthusiasts can even stay the night in a lighthouse keeper’s cottage, such as at Orkney Lighthouse (from £195 for three nights, sleeps three). Call 01856 701255, www.cantickhead.com

✢ Pull some strings

We’re big fans of the Norwich Puppet Theatre – one of the UK’s small group of theatres dedicated solely to puppetry.

Shows are beautifully produced and loved by adults and children alike, plus there are regular workshops for all ages too.

Highlights in the Grade I medieval building include Thumbelina, August 3, The Tinderbox, August 6-10, and a baby-friendly showing of Little Red Robin Hood, August 14. Prices start from £4.50.

Call the box office on 01603 629921 or visit www.puppettheatre.co.uk

✢ Go for gold

Amass treasure at the Dolaucothi Gold Mines.

The Welsh Cothi Valley based attraction was created in Roman times, and has a rich history to be explored on underground tours.

Call 01558 650177 or visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ dolaucothi-gold-mines

✢ Glaze to amaze

Channel creativity – yours and theirs – with a visit to a ceramic painting café. The UK is jam-packed with would-be potters, decorating plates, bowls and ceramic animals. Try the Pottery Paint Shop in Warwick (01926 258087), the Painting Pottery Café in Brighton (01273 628952), Crafty Monkey in St Neots (01480 219222), or visit Hobbycraft stores for DIY ceramic painting kits (www.hobbycraft.co.uk).

✢ Unleash your inner chocoholic

More than 8.5 million people have stepped through the Willy-Wonkaesque gates to Cadbury World in Birmingham since it opened in 1990, which says something about how we feel about chocolate! If you’re a fan of the sweet stuff, you can swiftly elevate yourself to grandparent number one with a visit. Expect free samples and demonstrations, then let them burn it all off in the Aztec playground. To book, or for more information, call 0844 880 7667 or visit www.cadburyworld.co.uk

York’s Chocolate Story, where you can learn about local chocolate-making families and have a go, too, is also well worth a visit as part of your cocoa pilgrimage: Call 0845 498 9411, or

Explore stunning caves and perhaps meet a witch at Wookey Hole, near Wells. Call 01749 672243 or

visit www.yorkschocolatestory.com

visit www.wookey.co.uk

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Now visit www.yours.co.uk for more ideas for fun days out

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Next issue: Where to go to see the past brought to life

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PICS: GETTY IMAGES AND ALAMY

01559 370428; www.toymuseum wales.co.uk

01475 689777 or visit www.visitscotland. com Alternatively, the ever-popular Jorvik Centre in York is a safe bet for fun: call 01904 615 505 or visit www.jorvik-viking-centre.co.uk

❙ star chat ❙

My lessons from life…

TV property guru Sarah Beeny, 41, tells us about family, long-term romance and why she lives for the moment… ✢ Young love can last

✢ Make the most of life

I met my husband, Graham, when I was 18 – I’ve been with him longer than I was without him.

Now I listen to people talking about men they’ve just met and dates they’ve been on, and I just can’t remember what it was like! It’s a lovely feeling, and I’m incredibly lucky. He’s my best friend, he makes me laugh – and he’s quite hot, which helps!

My mum died of breast cancer when I was ten years old. She was just 39 and I’m 41 now, so I’ve already had two years more than she did, and I feel really privileged.

I now take every opportunity and try to make things happen quickly.

✢ I love big families

✢ Take time to make the right decisions I’m very driven; it’s not always a good thing as it can mean I shoot from the hip and have knee-jerk

It’s like having a huge party everywhere you go! It’s been great having stepbrothers and sisters as I’ve got older – family get-togethers can be quite a big thing. And it’s absolute bedlam on a daily basis in my own house as I have four boys (Rafferty, Billy, Charlie and Laurie). You just have to adopt a very laidback attitude and embrace mishaps as they happen!

PICS: JOHN CAREY/CAMERA PRESS; PLANET PHOTOS

✢ Matchmaking is fun I do enjoy matchmaking, mainly because if I was single I’d like people to pass lovely men in front of me! I like setting up meetings between two people – if they don’t like each other it’s fine, but at least they’ve had a chance to meet.

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Sarah with her ‘bedlam’ boys and below, with her long-time love, hubby and business partner Graham

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reactions. But all the businesses I have are with my husband – ours is a completely 50/50 partnership in every area. He will tell me to walk away if he thinks I’m doing something detrimental.

✢ W should care about where we live Community is really important. We all live so close to each other, we need tolerance, communication and effort to create nice places to enjoy together. I feel strongly that local authorities need to give much more support. ✢ Sarah was talking to Laura Bradder

WHAT MADE YOU WHO YOU ARE TODAY? I would love to know because I’m a nightmare sometimes! I think it’s insecurity – I have always craved security in everything I do, whether that’s family, financially or in my homes. It’s what I encourage others to look for, and I’m very lucky to have found it. ✢ Sarah is the ambassador for Kärcher Cleans Britain in association with Keep Britain Tidy – a campaign to encourage the nation to take pride in their local areas and clean up their street or community areas.

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/karcheruk