Coronation Street
Corrie star Tracie Bennett on her long-awaited return to Weatherfield, and being the toast of Broadway...
MONDAY, WEDNESDAY & FRIDAY / ITV As Rita’s foster daughter Sharon Bentley, Tracie Bennett ignites every scene she’s in, and offscreen she’s just as sparky. Tracie tells us how she set Broadway ablaze, conquered her mum’s washing-up, and has plans to leave Corrie fans fuming…
MON, WED, FRI / ITV / TIMES VARY / SOAP
Few Corrie fans could have predicted a return for Sharon Bentley, who flounced out of Weatherfield way back in 1999 after upsetting former foster mum Rita.
But she’s back with a bang and is set to turn lives upside down; being on a secret mission to find Leanne Battersby for nephew Harvey, who wants to silence the AWOL mum for grassing him up to the cops for drug dealing.
Off-screen, actor Tracie Bennett, whose first stint in Corrie as
Sharon was from 1982-1984, certainly hasn’t rested on her laurels during her absence from the soap.
Tracie, 59, has carved out a glittering career on stage; winning Olivier Awards for her performances in the musicals She Loves Me and
Hairspray and being nominated for a Tony Award for her portrayal of Judy Garland in End of the Rainbow following its transfer to Broadway.
Here, Tracie talks about being back in Sharon’s shoes, and why her stage success hasn’t changed her one bit...
It’s taken 22 years for Sharon to make a comeback. Have you been asked to return to Corrie before now?
Yes, but it’s like a dance – everything has to align. They can put the word out there, but if I’m in a show for two years, it’s a complete no. There have been a few times where they’ve made an enquiry, but I couldn’t get out of what I was doing. This time, I think they realised they had to ask earlier, so the machinations of this started about 18 months ago. They said they had a couple of storylines ready but weren’t sure which way to go.
How have you prepared to play her again after all this time?
Looks-wise, I cut my hair and whitened it, because Sharon has had cancer and apparently it grows back quite coarse after chemo. But mainly, I tried to remember the essence of her, which was being gobby and impulsive. She wasn’t horrible, but she had her own logic – like when she sold The Kabin, which Rita had gifted to her. She was young and daft enough to get away with things then, but she isn’t now – she’s 55. For instance, she used to suck on a lollipop at the shop, but she’s too old now to do that, so I’ve got her staring at a lollipop and then putting it down – little touches, but the impulsiveness is still there.
What was it like stepping on to those famous cobbles again?
I think it would’ve been really hard if it was still the old set, at Granada Television. Without that first stint, I probably wouldn’t be working, to be honest; that was a proper jumpstart. I was fresh out of school, and it was like a little rep company, and I went through so much development as a person. The new set is a lot bigger, but I can make new memories and start again.
Back in the 80s, you worked with icons such as Pat Phoenix (Elsie Tanner) and Jean Alexander (Hilda Ogden). What did you learn from them?
They were really good to me. We used to have ‘group Wednesday’, when all the women would be in the green room together – Pat, Jean, [ ] Julie Goodyear , and Anne
] [Kirkbride – and we’d have a girly gossip. At first, I was like, ‘Why do they want me to join them?’ because these people were icons who I’d watched on telly. I remember Pat said to me, ‘Darling, you should always dress feminine, like a superstar!’ I’d be like, ‘Give over, I’m happy in my dungarees,’ because that’s the kind of thing Sharon wore. She went, ‘No, when you come into work!’ And then she said, ‘Wear stockings and suspenders under them dungarees, a bit of scent and a twinkle in your eye, and then you’ll be a lady!’
Away from Weatherfield, you’ve had an incredible career on stage, and won several awards – you must feel incredibly proud...
Awards are a tough one; it’s apples and oranges. If there were five same performances to judge, I could get it, but how can you choose between different performances? I’m not saying the awards aren’t spotlit on my fireplace – because they are! – but it doesn’t mean you’re the best. I remember coming back to Manchester from working on Broadway once, and I knocked on my mum’s door and she said, ‘Don’t come up ’ere with your Broadway ways; there’s a sinkful of pots in the kitchen!’ She thought I might’ve changed... As if!
What would you say is your first love: theatre or TV? I can’t choose, honestly. Often in theatre, you’re doing eight shows a week – maybe 12 at Christmas – so you have to live like an athlete and eat things like salmon and watercress all the time, but I like that discipline and routine.
And my mother worked hard for years, as have all my family, so we’re used to hard work. And it’s not rocket science – we’re just entertaining people.
COVID-19 has massively affected theatreland. What has been your experience of that?
I was doing the play Hangmen on Broadway early last year, and we could see things were getting worse. Finally, on 12 March, we were told we were closing for a month. I was like, ‘No, it’s never going to be a month,’ and I got the last flight out of New York. Nobody trains you to say goodbye to your mates on Facetime, and I’ve lost 12; American friends in the main, which has been really traumatising.
Back in Weatherfield, Sharon ups the ante to find Leanne, and we hear that little Sam is going to be at risk. Is there anything she’ll stop at to do Harvey’s dirty work?
I’m going to be so hated! Harvey gets a bit sassy and she’s like, ‘Oi, don’t push it!’ But then, eventually, he goes a bit psycho and she’s scared, because there’s a death threat made against her. You see Sharon struggle with her morality. Ultimately, she’s doing all this because she’s selfish and she’s been guilt-tripped, but then she realises, ‘Oh my God, this is really dangerous for me now – what am I going to do?’ Watch this space!
YOU SEE SHARON STRUGGLE WITH HER MORALITY