'I didn't want to play a drunk, forlorn little thing'
Audrey Roberts has had her fair share of trials and tribulations over the years in Coronation Street – which is not surprising given that she’s been a fixture in Weatherfield for almost four decades.
The deaths of husband Alfie and best friend Alma, and almost becoming a victim of serial killer son-in-law Richard Hillman are just some of the legendary character’s low points.
But actress Sue Nicholls, who plays the salon owner, has revealed that she put her foot down over one particular storyline, which was then subsequently scrapped. The storyline in question saw Audrey, who became a widow in 1999, turn to drink to blot out the pain of being lonely.
Explains Sue: "There was something pitched to me years ago - and I am talking years ago - that maybe Audrey was going home and drinking a lot. It’s a bit true to life actually! And Gail and the family would ask if she was lonely.
“But I didn't agree with it. I asked: 'Why do you think that just because she goes home on her own, she's lonely and needs to drink? Not necessarily!
‘To be honest, I can't get wait to get home and plonk on the sofa, and yes, pour the rosé. But it's not because I'm depressed. It’s because I think: 'How wonderful, they're all gone!'
"I tried to pitch it back to them that I didn't want to play a drunk, forlorn little thing. It is nice that they went the other way."
Audrey, who made her debut in Weatherfield in April 1979, is currently embroiled in a relationship with lothario Lewis Archer – the former conman who once swindled her daughter Gail out of forty thousand pounds.
The crimper believes he has changed his ways and become an honest man. But a storyline set to hit screens at Christmas will see Audrey fear she’s been played for a fool when Lewis stands her up for a date, and she then discovers that £80,000, left to her in the will of old friend Archie Shuttleworth, has been stolen from her bank account.
Audrey Roberts in Coronation Street pic: ITV/REX/Shutterstock
