Whether it’s Corrie, a primetime TV drama or a stint at The National Theatre, Katherine Kelly’s career defies definition. But her next step always relies on the writing, she tells GEMMA DUNN I try not to take the path of least resistance
KATHERINE KELLY has never been one to play it safe. In fact, since leaving behind the cobbles of Coronation Street in 2012 (who could forget her stirring portrayal of brash barmaid Becky?), she’s done little to appease industry snobs who dare to question a soap star’s prowess.
Take her stint as the aristocratic Lady Mae Loxley in Mr Selfridge, for example, or her ruthless portrayal as editor-in-chief Maloney for The Field Of Blood.
Then came harrowing missing child drama Guilty; The Night Manager ; Doctor Who spin-off series, Class ; the action-filled Strike Back ; and, of course, her depiction of stony-faced DI Jodie Shackleton in Happy Valley.
More recently the Barnsley-born actress even tried her hand at presenting as the host of gripping true crime series Murdertown.
“Well, I defy definition!” Katherine says, laughing. “But to be honest, the script is king for me, so if it’s a good script, that really is the most important thing.
“Then very swiftly after that is the team,” adds the 39-year-old RADA graduate.
“It’s lovely and very flattering to be offered parts, but I still like to meet the team, because we’re colours in the director’s palette and I want to make sure that we’re all going to be painting the same picture. Or at least a picture that we all agree on.
“There’s so many different ways you can portray something,” she notes. “So it does look like I make big, bold choices, but really I try not to take the path of least resistance. It’s a contrariness in me.”
She applies the same rule to her changeable appearance. And today Katherine – who has no qualms about altering her looks for a part – has switched her usual blonde locks for a sharp brunette bob.
“You can always tell by the hair!” she quips, teasing her next move.
“There’s a few things – something for IT V, which I definitely can’t talk about...
“But this (style) is for a Netflix show that I shot in Madrid at the beginning of the year. I don’t think it’s been announced that I’m in it yet, so I’d better hang on...” she says. “But it’s very different, surprise surprise!”
What Katherine can talk about, however, is her lead role in IT V ’s latest gripping psychological thriller, Cheat.
Produced by the award-winning Two Brothers Pictures and penned by newcomer Gaby Hull, the four-part series centres on the dangerous relationship between university professor Dr Leah Dale (Katherine), and her student Rose Vaughan (played by the BAFTA-winning Molly Windsor).
What begins as a seemingly openand-shut case of academic deception soon spirals out of control, triggering a devastating sequence of events that threatens to engulf both women.
“On the face of it, Cheat is about a student essay that has been ghostwritten by someone else. Perhaps!” Katherine says of the drama, which also stars Tom Goodman-Hill, Lorraine Ashbourne and Peter Firth.
“So to begin with it’s about plagiarism. But the story quickly moves on from there and explores the theme of being a ‘cheat’ rather than that particular incident.”
It’s a page-turner, she says.