The Hayley Cropper actress was welcomed back to the panel as she spoke about her gritty acting roles and how ageing makes her feel
Coronation Street actress Julie Hesmondhalgh was welcomed back to Loose Women, 25 years after she was a panellist herself on the ITV show.
Sitting down with Christine Lampard, Judi Love, Nadia Sawalha and Jane Moore, Julie opened up about her exit from Weatherfield and her role in Mr Bates vs the Post Office.
Julie is best known for her role as Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street in which she first joined in 1998 before leaving in 2014.
Her exit took place as her character was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and made the heartbreaking decision to end her own life before her condition progressed. Viewers tuned into the emotional scene as she slipped away while in her husband, Roy Cropper's, arms.
Hayley was the first transgender character to appear on Coronation Street, and Julie revealed previously that Hayley was supposed to be a short stint before the public fell in love with her character.
She shared: "We played it for real and not for laughs. The most amazing thing happened when the public got behind it. There was a quick re-write and it turned into a real love story. What happened was telly magic and there was real chemistry between Hayley and Roy and me and David (Neilson) always got on so well."
Julie made her grand entrance back to the studio, a quarter of a century after she was last a panellist on the daytime show back when it was filmed in Manchester.
The actress spoke about starring in James Graham's new play, Punch, a drama that takes on a true story of a man accidentally killing someone after a singular punch.
Speaking about the various difficult roles she's taken on over the span of her impressive career, the panel asked if she ever struggles to deal with the heaviness of the content she tackles.
She shared: "I can’t indulge in this, I’ve got to be a storyteller and do the best I can" while reflecting that seeing how the real people impacted in the stories she tells carry on with their lives, and so should she.
As the show then aired an old clip of Julie and Nadia presenting Loose Women, the panel spoke about ageing and how it feels to look back on your younger self.
When asked if ageing bothers her, Julie responded: "All my selves are in me, there’s always been a 77 year old in me, I am all those people. I love all bodies and faces, and so I try to treat myself with that same kindness."
Loose Women airs on weekdays from 12:30pm on ITV1 and is available to stream on ITVX.
