“I used to gossip with Pat Phoenix!” says Corrie star Tracie Bennett
The last time we saw Sharon Bentley on Coronation Street was in 1999, when she was hot-footing it from the cobbles after ripping off foster mum Rita, and the pair have been on bad terms ever since. However, a lot of trams have passed over the viaduct since then, and Sharon claims that she’s a changed woman.
However, we now know that her return is not merely a chance to catch up with old neighbours and friends. She’s back to help her wicked nephew Harvey get revenge on Leanne…
“The one thing that really drew me back to Corrie was this storyline – it’s so good! But then again, why would they bring me back and waste it?” laughs star Tracie Bennett, who’s reprising her role as Sharon, 22 years after her last appearance on the show. “I’m so pleased to be in the new studios, though, otherwise I’d have felt too emotional about returning.”
“The last time I was here, there were only about 12 of us in the cast – but now I’m ready to make new memories…”
There was one aspect in particular of what the writers had planned for Sharon that prompted Tracie to come back…
“This storyline is dark, and I don’t want to play nice all the time,” admits Tracie. “The root of Sharon’s motivation is that she’s suffered from cancer, and it was her brother, Wayne, who looked after her – so she feels as if she owes him. But now Wayne is dead, and his son, Harvey, is emotionally blackmailing her. And all Harvey wants is to find Leanne by any means. It’s typical Sharon really – she’s always putting her foot in it.”
Tracie first joined Corrie in the early 80s, thrown in at the deep end of TV’s most popular show, and working with the Street’s biggest names…
“I’ll tell you something… There was a group of us that used to meet on a Wednesday – Pat Phoenix [Elsie Tanner], Julie Goodyear [Bet Lynch], Jean Alexander [Hilda Ogden], Anne Kirkbride [Deirdre Barlow] and me – and we’d all relish a girlie gossip,” she reveals. “They were all so good to me, and we were a group of strong, northern women. I’d be sat in my dungarees and pigtails dressed as Sharon, and Pat would go, “You can always wear stockings and suspenders under them dungarees! Wear them, a bit of scent, and a twinkle in your eye!” Anne and I would discuss glasses, props and cigarettes. Jean knew her plants, so we’d talk about that. Julie would be hilarious: “Y’all right? Sit down kid, get the champagne out!” she’d say.
- Get this week’s Inside Soap for the full version of Tracie’s Big Interview to find out how it felt to be reunited with the legendary Barbara Knox, aka Rita…
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Published at Tue, 27 Apr 2021 06:03:34 +0000
Article source: https://www.insidesoap.co.uk/interviews/i-used-to-gossip-with-pat-phoenix-says-corrie-star-tracie-bennett/