Blast From The Past: Julia Haworth
As she guest stars in Doctors, Julia Haworth casts her mind back to life on Coronation Street…
When she first arrived in Weatherfield in 2003, Claire Casey could barely say boo to a goose. Fast forward eight years, and the former nanny – who’d married her boss Ashley to become Mrs Peacock – had broken out of her favourite beige anorak and, in a furious act of revenge, almost bashed Tracy Barlow to death.
It made for quite the Coronation Street journey for a character initially described as ‘Weatherfield’s answer to Mary Poppins’, and Julia Haworth, who played Claire – and is currently enjoying a guest run in Doctors – has warm memories…
“I had a fantastic time at Corrie,” she beams. “And I loved it when Claire found her feisty side. Someone called her ‘Claire the mousewife’, which made me chuckle. When the mouse roared, it was great! Claire could really let rip when she stood up for what she believed in, and I was always a big admirer of that.”
Claire married Ashley, the father of her young charge Joshua, in a romantic Christmas Day wedding in 2004. After giving birth to their son Thomas (later renamed Freddie) almost two years later, Claire suffered severe post-natal depression. However, further heartbreak was to follow – difficult stories that Julia remains proud of tackling.
“I was blessed with so many wonderful storylines,” grins the star, who’d worked on series including Peak
Practice and Merseybeat prior to her Corrie debut. “In acting, you always want something that’s going to challenge you, and Claire’s post-natal depression really stretched me. But I also loved the comedy scenes with Steven Arnold [Ashley], because they brought a lot of laughs to the show. At times Steven and I couldn’t even look each other in the eye!”
Claire has recently arrived in Doctors playing Laura, a woman determined to have a baby with husband Russell. It’s another emotional plot for the 39-yearold, who is mum to two young daughters. Once again, she’s enjoying the challenge.
“Laura is a fascinating character, she really is,” shares Julia. “She and Russell are going through IVF, which is having a massive impact on their lives. It’s a very sensitive storyline, which midwife Ruhma becomes involved with – and it impacts her life as well as Laura’s. It’s one of those stories that makes you consider what’s important.”
This isn’t Julia’s first visit to Letherbridge, having guest starred in Doctors twice previously. Laura’s plight is set to play out in the run-up to Christmas, and the actress welcomed the chance to stay a bit longer this time – despite filming festive scenes in the height of a summer heatwave!
“Laura is very different from my previous Doctors characters – but it’s lovely to have that familiarity coming back to the set,” explains Julia, who is studying for her PGCE qualification between acting jobs. “This is the earliest I’ve filmed Christmas scenes, though. We had to have fake snow for Claire and Ashley’s Christmas Day wedding, which we shot in October – but at least it was cold then. It was the middle of the summer holidays filming Christmas at Doctors, which was bonkers!”