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Charlie Hardwick’s working life may still be in Yorkshire but the former Emmerdale star says it’s a world away from what she was used to. Charlie spent more than a decade on the ITV soap as Val Pollard. And while she’s not knocking the show she loved appearing on, she says it was time for a change and her new role on Channel 4’s school drama, Ackley Bridge, provides just that. “I miss my old comrades but we keep in touch,” says Charlie, who was on the soap between 2004 and 2017. “It was great working in West Yorkshire again because I got to hang out with some of them. “I loved playing Val but I was spending more time as her than me. So after 12 years, I felt it was time to explore new creative avenues.” Ackley Bridge, which is just back for its third series, is set in and around a school that’s designed to unite the divided white and Asian communities of a small Yorkshire mill town. Charlie, who plays the new, disenchanted director of behaviour Sue Carp, says that made it a really appealing project. “I have always been passionate about justice and equality, and the ability of drama to counter ignorance, racism and prejudice. “I applauded the boldness and courage
of the Ackley Bridge creators to tackle these real-life experiences, with fantastic writing and terrific characters. “It’s top-notch entertainment, and Ackley Bridge gives us access into the experiences of others we would normally never glimpse, let alone understand.” Charlie says she could hardly have been more taken with the young cast who played the pupils. “I was so impressed by their professionalism, focus and skill and they had to do some really intense work. “Plus, between takes, we laughed.A lot.Young people get such bad press but I was bowled over by their infectious enthusiasm, open minds and quick wits. “I looked forward to being with them every day and I miss them.” Ask Charlie what she was like as a pupil herself and the words that come to mind are exuberant, engaged and fun. She does admit, though, that they may not necessarily be the ones that her old teachers would use. And she says that she based some aspects of playing disciplinarian Sue on those teachers she didn’t rate. “Until the age of 13 I was a visual art fanatic,” she recalls of her school days. “I spent hours drawing and painting. I also loved English but maths was, and still is, a puzzle.” Ackley Bridge, Channel 4, Tue, 8pm