Julie Hesmondhalgh found motherhood ‘a struggle’ and has a lot of regrets

Actress Julie Hesmondhalgh has said she found motherhood “a struggle” and has a lot of regrets about how she sometimes responded to her daughters.

The 56-year-old, who appeared on the current series of Celebrity Traitors, is best known for playing the first trans character in a British soap, Hayley Cropper on Coronation Street from 1998 until 2014.

Hesmondhalgh opened up about some of the challenges she had raising her two children, who she shares with her husband, writer Ian Kershaw, including how to manage her home and work life.

Actress Julie Hesmondhalgh on the December cover of Good Housekeeping UK (Jonty DavieS/Good Housekeeping UK/PA)

Speaking to Good Housekeeping UK, she said: “I found a lot of motherhood a struggle.

“Balancing my own life and work with motherhood was tricky at times. I have a lot of regrets about losing my rag with my kids.

“I took things too personally; I felt like they were almost trying to make my life difficult, which obviously they weren’t.

“They were just children.”

Hesmondhalgh said she was “so chuffed” to be asked to be on Celebrity Traitors because she is “obsessed” with the series.

Her time on the show came to an end early after she was banished from the castle by her fellow faithfuls.

Hesmondhalgh left the show with newly forged friendships, including with comedian Romesh Ranganathan – who she described as being one of the “greatest human beings”.

She said: “The extraordinary thing is that you’re all on the same footing. There’s no status at all.

“You have these accelerated friendships because there’s a lot of time off-camera when you’re travelling in cars together and aren’t allowed to discuss the game.

Actress Julie Hesmondhalgh on the December cover of Good Housekeeping UK (Jonty DavieS/Good Housekeeping UK/PA)

“People tell you about their lives; I found out so much about people and I was really touched that they trusted me.

“Romesh is one of the greatest human beings. We were in there right at the start, alongside Ross Kemp. The three of us were a very unlikely little threesome. I adored Ross, too.”

The actress is also known for Broadchurch and played Suzanne Sercombe, the partner to Toby Jones’ Alan Bates in the ITV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, about the Horizon IT scandal.

She left Coronation Street in 2014 and said that she has “no regrets” about leaving, however it sometimes feels strange to see so many of the same cast and crew names in the credits.

One of the key storylines Hesmondhalgh played out on the soap followed the relationship between her character Hayley and Roy Cropper, played by David Neilson.

Actress Julie Hesmondhalgh on the December cover of Good Housekeeping UK (Jonty DavieS/Good Housekeeping UK/PA)

She said their love story “was important” and “got people talking”, adding that Roy was originally meant to leave Hayley after she came out as trans.

She said: “Everybody loved the relationship. It became a key storyline almost by accident, which was the best way, because it wasn’t an issue that was shoehorned in.

“I maintain that Hayley and Roy’s love story was important. It got people talking.

“It’s so upsetting that trans rights have now gone backwards.”

The full interview can be read in Good Housekeeping’s December issue which is on sale from October 22.