Julie from The Traitors is set to receive the first lifetime achievement award from The Theatres Trust at the inaugural Great British Theatres Awards in London on 2 November. Julie Hesmondhalgh said she was “very honoured” after being named for the prize.
The Theatres Trust honour
The award recognises her contribution to theatre both on and off the stage. Joshua McTaggart said she shared the organisation’s belief that everyone should have access to theatre and live performance, regardless of where they live or their background, and added that she has used her platform to bang the drum for inclusive and equitable access to the performing arts and champion important community theatres.
Hesmondhalgh, who is 56, was born in Accrington and trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. She played Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street from 1998 to 2014, and Hayley became the first transgender character in a British soap opera. Earlier this year, she won an Olivier Award for her portrayal of Joan in Punch.
Oldham and regional theatre
The award also folds in a strand of campaigning that has kept her visible beyond television. Hesmondhalgh played a leading role in efforts to save Oldham Coliseum from permanent closure, backed the reopening of Oswaldtwistle Civic Arts Centre and Theatre, co-founded Manchester’s award-winning Take Back Theatre Collective, and supports the Regional Theatre Young Directors Scheme and Arts Emergency.
Oldham Coliseum is expected to reopen in 2027 after receiving an additional £7m to remove asbestos and repair structural defects. Hesmondhalgh said, “Making the beautiful old girl properly future-proof is the number one priority.”
One and the award
That campaigning sits alongside a busy current profile: she is starring in One’s The Celebrity Traitors. The overlap matters because the award is not a nostalgia piece; it lands while she is still working at a high level on screen and still arguing for theatres that serve audiences outside London.
For readers, the immediate takeaway is simple. Hesmondhalgh will be on stage in London on 2 November, and The Theatres Trust is using its first lifetime achievement prize to reward someone whose career runs from Coronation Street to Punch and into the long fight for regional theatre access.
