Battle of the Corrie Hairdressers!
There may be tussles ahead for Audrey as Rula Lenska’s character Claudia bursts back onto the Street…
Rula Lenska’s back
She’s one of the most recognisable faces on television and if Rula Lenska has her way, we’ll be seeing a lot more of her over the coming months.
For not only is she back on the cobbles of Coronation Street after seven years away, but despite turning 70 last year she has absolutely no intention of becoming a lady of leisure.
“The idea of retiring is awful to me,” she says
www.myweekly.co.uk firmly. “A – I can’t afford to retire, and B – it makes you feel useful. When I’m not working, I feel as though I’m not actually contributing to society – apart from being a mum and an adoring grandmother.”
Rula previously spent two years in the show as Audrey Roberts’ formidable hairdressing rival Claudia Colby and was “thrilled” to receive a call inviting her back, particularly as she was surprised to land the part in the first place.
The actress, who was born Countess Roza Lubienska and is descended from Polish nobility, explains, “If somebody had asked me, ‘What is the least likely programme you think you’d be invited onto?’ it would have been Corrie, because I’m a bit cut-glass posh.
“I remember initially asking my agent, ‘Do you think I should attempt a Northern accent?’ He said, ‘If you want to be a longrunning character, maybe you should try.’ So I met Sue (Nicholls who plays Audrey) on the first day.
“The first line was, ‘The cleanliness in thesse toilets is second to nonee.’ Sue said, ‘OK, give it to me.’ I did it in a Northerrn accent and she said, ‘Forget it!’ So I just triedd to rub the edges off a bit.””
After making her namme in the ground-breaking television series Rock FolliesF in the 1970s, Rula enjoyed a varied career in film, theeatre and television, famouslyy appearing in Celebrity BigB
Brother in 2006. Away from the screen she is a passionate conservationist and could have chosen a different path completely. “I’ve always been an adventuress,” she says. “If somebody tells me not to do something, it’s the first thing I’ll go and do. I’ve got into serious trouble many times. I’ve had an amazing life so far and I intend it to go on. “If I hadn’t managed to make it in some way as an actress, I would have wanted to be an explorer and a wildlife photographer, which I still manage to do a bit of. But I love this world and I love the challenge of becoming different people.” Rula, whose mother spent two years in a concentration camp after being captured by the Nazis, shows no signs of slowing
“It’s a delicious possibility of grown-up, funny humour you see a lot in real life”
down. “I’m becoming a little bit more proactive,” she says.
“For years I’ve been trying to do a one-woman show about extracts from my mother’s memoirs, which I’ve finally succeeded in getting together. I’ve also got a one-woman show being written for me about the older Rita Hayworth.
“There are lots of things bubbling at the moment. The last two years have been a bit lean, but now suddenly…”
Glamorous Claudia reappears out of the blue at Audrey’s salon and it’s not long before she is lording it over Audrey, crowing about how well her business is doing and her plans to expand her empire.
“Basically, it’s the battle of the hairdressers.” Rula smiles. “Two older ladies who love/hate each other is not something you see ver y often. It’s a delicious possibility of grown-up, funny humour and you see it a lot in real life. Me and my sisters, for example, who I adore, but we’re like cat and dog a lot of the time.”
Rula, who was previously married to the actor Dennis Waterman, lives in west London, close to her daughter Lara and six-yearold grandson. Despite finding it hard being away from them, she is hoping her positive attitude and healthy lifestyle will help her cope if her stint in Coronation Street proves to be a long one.
“I exercise, but not madly. I hate gyms,” she says firmly. “I do a little bit of yoga. I’m a Buddhist and I chant. I swim when I can. I visit foreign countries, which I adore. I did an amazing trip to the Galapagos a couple of years ago. I’m hoping to go and see the gorillas this year in Rwanda.
“I have a full, exciting life and I never stop pushing the boundaries. I want that written on my tombstone!”
For more information: www.itv.com/coronationstreet and on Twitter: @itvcorrie www.myweekly.co.uk