Coronation Street's Jennie McAlpine: 'Fiz gets really angry at Roy'
Coronation Street fans can expect a surprising reaction from Fiz Stape as she struggles to cope with the heartbreak of Hayley Cropper's death later this month.
While grieving, an emotional Fiz is shocked to learn that Hayley ended her own life and that she was kept in the dark over her friend's intentions for months.
Here, Jennie McAlpine - who plays Fiz - reveals details of her character's anger once the truth is revealed.
You've seen Hayley's final episodes which air next week. What was it like for you to watch them back?
"It's always strange to watch something like that. It's so intense when you're filming those scenes. We filmed Hayley's final episodes over a three or four-week period, and we were also filming other stuff at the same time. Sometimes when you watch something back, it goes in a heartbeat and you think, 'I spent a month of my life doing that!'
"Watching these episodes was different because of the subject matter and the fact that it was done so sensitively. It resonated a lot and even though Fiz is being mentioned on screen a lot, she doesn't feature in the final episodes a huge amount, so it was probably better for me to watch it because I wasn't directly involved. I was able to watch it as a viewer."
Were you proud when you watched David and Julie's performances back?
"I was so engrossed in it that I wasn't thinking about David and Julie - I was watching Roy and Hayley. I'm a massive Corrie fan and I wouldn't have been crying like I was if I'd only been thinking of David and Julie, because I'd know they were only actors! I know they've put everything into their performances, though. Julie must have felt whacked by the end of it, and I know she needed a rest!"
How does this compare to deaths of other Corrie favourites?
"The thing with any soap or drama is that you're just telling one person's story. When Jack and Vera died, we were just telling their stories. Hayley's exit could have been told from many different angles because people die every day and every death is different. Every family member's reaction to a death is also different, so the team could only write Hayley's journey and the journey of her family and friends.
"I think this is definitely up there with one of the most poignant and real deaths. Roy and Hayley are just two normal people. It's fabulous that Julie and David have created that, because when they first joined the show, that wasn't what they were and it wasn't what they were supposed to be. They were attacked and abused on the street by characters like Les Battersby for not being normal.
"15 years on, they're the most normal couple on Coronation Street and the one most people can relate to. That's fabulous, brilliant and quite right. It's testament to Julie and David."
Which scenes have been the hardest to film?
"Gosh, it's all been difficult. I'm much more involved with the aftermath of Hayley's death, and that sees a slightly different relationship for a time between Roy and Fiz. Obviously Fiz is the only one in the situation who didn't know what was going to happen. In the final episodes, it even seems like Carla might have known in her head, so Fiz has an interesting journey in the episodes coming up."
How does Fiz react when she finds out that Hayley took her own life?
"As people do when they're grieving, Fiz goes through all sorts of emotions. She's mainly trying to avoid the grief, the upset and the crying bit! Instead Fiz is angry and a bit jealous that Anna knew and she didn't. She's also angry at Roy. She's angry at the situation and she shouts at Roy. They really do fall out, and it's good that they've done something a bit different. It's not just everyone saying, 'How sad'."
How do you think viewers will feel about Hayley taking her own life?
"When I watched it, I didn't think the scenes were sensationalist. It could certainly have been a lot more controversial. I think the viewers have already dealt with their feelings on the 'right to die' debate, because Roy and Hayley have been talking about it for so long.
"Now people will probably just watch it and be really sad that Hayley has passed away. If there were discussions from viewers about Hayley's decision, they would have taken place weeks ago when she was discussing it."
What was Hayley's funeral like to film?
"It's a difficult one, because Roy is going through so many emotions and feels as though he has to keep the secret of what Hayley did so that nobody finds out what happened. It's very tense, and Fiz, Anna and Carla are pretty much sitting by Roy 24 hours a day like three witches so that he doesn't say anything! They want to look after him as best as they can, while making sure that he keeps his counsel.
"The funeral is sad, but in typical Corrie style, there are also some funny and moving bits. Also, the story hasn't finished so the funeral moves things on. It was always going to be a case of, 'What will Roy do without Hayley?'"
What was Julie's leaving party like? Did you get her a leaving present?
"We all donated money to a charity that Julie supports rather than getting her a present, but we did chip in and buy her some red Doc Martin boots. We had a party and she wrote a poem about everybody. It was an A-Z of Coronation Street which was fabulous. She made a very good speech and had a very big send-off."
What kind of impact will the loss of Julie and Hayley have?
"Julie's departure will leave a very big hole but also a big legacy. When Hayley first joined, this storyline was very new and had never been done before - introducing a transgender character to the heart of a soap. To be honest, I don't think anyone thought it would work. They could have hoped, but I don't think anyone would have imagined that it would work as well as it did. Very, very quickly, nobody ever mentioned it again, so that's a big legacy.
"Hayley and Roy paved the way for any kind of characters to be permanent characters in Coronation Street. In 2014, you can say that's quite right, but some people had to pioneer it. Now it's the norm for all kinds of characters to be in shows, but it certainly wasn't at the time."
Coronation Street's Debbie Rush on Hayley's death: 'Anna protects Roy'
Coronation Street's Anna Windass plays a key role in Hayley Cropper's heartbreaking final episodes next week.
Next Monday's double bill (January 20) sees Hayley wake up determined that the day will be her last, as she still plans to go through with ending her own life.
As one of the only people aware of Hayley's intentions, Anna quickly spots the signs that something is amiss and tries her best to support the Croppers when they need it the most.
Here, Debbie Rush - who plays Anna - offers her take on the moving storyline.
You've become really involved in this storyline. Which of the scenes were the hardest to film?
"It's funny, as the hardest part when I read the scripts was a scene on Hayley's last day where she wants to see Fiz, Tyrone and the kids at the café. We're getting food ready for everyone and it's obvious to Anna that Hayley is saying her goodbyes, even though Fiz and Tyrone don't realise that. So that was the hardest part to read.
"When I went on to film the episodes, the hardest bit was a scene where Hayley is ironing Roy's best shirt in the flat and Anna goes upstairs to check on her. Hayley is ironing the shirt for the funeral and when Anna sees that, she realises what Hayley is about to do. It's unspoken between the two of them, and when I watched the episode back, that bit still really got to me.
"It's also the fact that Hayley dies and Roy is left alone, which is just heartbreaking."
What kind of role does Anna play in the aftermath of Hayley's death?
"Anna sees her role as being protective, as she is with everybody that she knows and loves. In Hayley's final episode, Anna knows what's going on upstairs in the flat, so she closes the café up early and locks the door. Afterwards, Anna just wants to make sure that Roy is okay - and of course he isn't, as nobody would be. Anna's role is to be a guardian and to make sure that Roy is alright."
How does Anna feel about the fact that Hayley is ending her own life?
"I think Anna totally respects Hayley's decision. Beforehand she thinks that Hayley might change her mind, but when she sees Hayley preparing Roy's best shirt for the funeral and how subdued Roy is, she knows definitely that the choice has been made. She totally respects that."
We'll see that Fiz isn't happy that she wasn't told about Hayley's plans. Will that make things harder for Anna?
"It will make things hard for a while, but not too long. I think Fiz might come round, but it's been really tough for Anna to have this secret. She hasn't confided in anyone about it and she hasn't even told Owen. Anna's been a really good person to confide in, because she's kept it all to herself. Fiz feels part of the family, so for her to not know, she must feel very left out. But Anna was sworn to secrecy and she stuck to that."
What has it been like to be at the heart of this story?
"I feel really honoured to have played a part in saying goodbye to one of our most favourite characters. That's been amazing for me.
"On a personal note, it's been quite tough because my dad died of pancreatic cancer. For me as an actress, I always try to find the truth in a script - my own truth, and I bring it up from there. With this, 'easy' is the wrong word but it fell off the page really easily. I've loved filming it, though, and it's been quite cathartic as well."
What was the atmosphere like on set when you were filming the scenes?
"There are tons of people on set making everything work, and yet you could hear a pin drop on set for Hayley's final scenes. Nobody spoke at all as they were so respectful of what they were doing. Each one of us, in the six weeks building up to the death and afterwards, broke down in different ways. I managed to save mine up until the last few scenes that we filmed.
"There's a scene where Roy and Hayley are on the bed together and Hayley is ready for the drink that will end her life. Because we film out of sequence, I was waiting on the sidelines to go in and film my scene where Anna finds Hayley ironing the shirt. But I actually couldn't breathe - I'd not cried until that point and I'd really kept it together, but because I could hear everything that was going on in that scene, I just wanted to cry.
"I wanted to get out of the building to let it all out but I couldn't, so as soon they said 'cut', I ended up stuck between two bits of scenery and was howling. Julie was really worried about it and it was really difficult. I think it's because we've all been so honest in the performances.
"Each one of us chose a different point to break down and we were all very supportive of each other, but it was also the crew, as the crew cried. We were also saying goodbye to Julie, one of our colleagues. We are like a family and Julie is obviously not coming back to the show. We'll still see her socially but it's the end of an era, so it's really, really tough."
Do you have any feelings on the 'right to die' debate?
"My personal opinion is that everybody has got the right to die, most definitely. If it's done humanely and you've got all the right faculties about you, I think we should be allowed the right. I don't think I'd be brave enough to do it, but I think the choice should be there.
"I think it's great that we're raising the issue and getting people talking. We have 8 or 9 million people watching Coronation Street. I remember that when we did the bullying storyline, people were really upset about it, but I had lots of people getting in touch with me and it does go on. So does this, so it's great to explore these issues that affect people."
You mentioned people getting in touch with you - do people still send fan mail even in the age of Twitter?
"Yes, we get letters from all the age ranges. People write in to ask for advice, or ask where your curtains are from! They also write in to congratulate us if we've done a good job, so we get all sorts. It's really lovely."
Has the story brought the cast involved closer?
"We're a family and very close anyway, but I would say that when we were filming it, Jennie McAlpine, Ali King, Alan Halsall and me did bond quite a lot. It was Julie and David doing all the dying, and us four doing all the crying!"
Coronation Street's Julie Hesmondhalgh on Hayley's heartbreaking exit
Coronation Street bids farewell to one of its most-loved characters next week as Julie Hesmondhalgh bows out as Hayley Cropper.
As she has repeatedly vowed to over the past few months, terminally-ill Hayley takes control of her own death by saying goodbye to everyone she cares about before taking a lethal cocktail with husband Roy at her side.
Here, Julie chats about the heartbreaking final scenes, her future plans and the impact of Hayley's 16-year stint on the cobbles.
You've already seen Hayley's final episodes, so how did you feel when you watched them back?
"It was extraordinary for me to watch them. I've got a little bit of distance from it now, but when I was watching those episodes, I was right back in it. Me and my husband watched them together and it was like a scene of carnage afterwards, with loads and loads of screwed-up kitchen roll and empty bottles of whisky! (Laughs.)
"It was emotional on loads of different levels, especially watching Hayley's storyline play to its end and seeing her saying goodbye to everyone. But what really struck me was how beautifully written it was. I thought the writing was on a different level and it was brilliantly directed as well. I felt really honoured to be part of it."
Were the scenes also emotional to film?
"Yeah, it was very hard. I had to be quite strong in the final scenes - we knew it was going to be upsetting to watch, but we didn't want it to be a tear-fest for us. What we were very, very keen to do, which went a tiny little bit against the writing of it, was that we wanted to make Roy and Hayley's final scenes as unbeautiful as we could.
"We wanted to make it quite an awkward and difficult scene between them, because Roy still doesn't agree with Hayley's decision to end her life. She almost railroads him at the end, because it's becoming too painful. That comes over quite strongly in it - she's driving the bus big-style, while Roy feels like he's on the bus and can't get off. That's really upsetting to watch."
What was the atmosphere like on set for Hayley's final moments?
"Kay Patrick directed the episodes, and she's a veteran director of Corrie - someone we've all known for years. She was brilliant as she really created such a quiet atmosphere on set. It was a closed set and I've never known anything like it. We've done some big stuff recently, but this was like something else. Everything was put in place so we just marked the scene through and we did it. She didn't want us to do it over and over again, so that's possibly why it comes across as so raw on screen. It was just one take."
What can you tell us about Hayley's final day?
"Beforehand Hayley has said her goodbyes to everyone. Nobody realises she's saying goodbye, but she's managed to see everybody she wants to see. Then on the day of her death, she invites Fiz, Tyrone and the kids to the café to see them for the final time. It doesn't go well, as things are a bit off and go a bit wrong.
"Hayley is embarrassed as she gets a bit upset in front of the kids and clings onto Fiz a little bit too tightly when she says goodbye. As a story it isn't neatly sewn up, which I've loved. She also says goodbye to Rita a little bit cack-handedly."
What happens next?
"Hayley goes back upstairs and tries to write cards to Ruby, Hope and Joseph for the future, but she can't think of anything to write and says, 'Oh, they won't remember me anyway, this is just stupid'. Roy says they should try again tomorrow and do Hayley's final day better, but Hayley says it won't be better - they'll just do it a bit wrong, a bit right and that's life. Hayley also points out that waiting for her death is making it worse for Roy.
"You don't actually see Hayley die. You see her take the drink that will end her life, then it cuts away somewhere else, and then Carla and Anna find Roy with Hayley after she has passed away. That was really hard to film - hearing their reaction."
Have you seen any of the following episodes?
"I've seen the episode after Hayley's death, which very much goes into the community's reaction. There's a scene in The Rovers where everyone finds out, and that's amazing. There's a beautiful line where Emily says, 'I can't even begin to imagine what Roy is going through' and Rita replies, 'We know what he's going through'. It's all that history of everyone who's lost someone in Corrie over the years. It pulls it together beautifully.
"Everyone talks about it being a pancreatic cancer storyline or a 'right to die' storyline, but first and foremost it's a love story, albeit an offbeat one."
What has the reaction from the public been like?
"I think what's surprised me most is that I thought more people would switch off, to be honest with you. I thought it would be too much for people. Although Coronation Street deals with all the big universal things that soaps do, I don't think this is why people watch Corrie. It's only because people are invested in Roy and Hayley and this long relationship that it's been slightly different.
"Everyone has been affected by cancer in some way and of course people have said to me, 'I can't watch it anymore, sorry'. But the absolute overwhelming majority have said, 'I didn't think I'd be able to watch it, but I'm finding some kind of solace from seeing my experience of going through loss being reflected'. Something in the writing has got it right. I think that's come from the researchers, the writing and then the work on the floor. Everyone has been so committed to doing it properly.
"I've been getting so many tweets and messages and I've tried to reply to everybody when I can, even if it's just a couple of kisses."
What is your take on the 'right to die' debate?
"I'm a member of the British Humanist Association, so I have quite strong views in favour of it, obviously within the constraints that have to be there and extremely carefully laid-out to ensure that it's not abused. I've always really understood Hayley's decision, and the interesting thing is that David hasn't. As actors we've had very different views on the issue. I've been playing my views and David has been playing his.
"At the same time, I think people will have a lot of sympathy for Roy at the end. It's been difficult to watch Roy go down a road that he doesn't want to go down. Over the next few weeks there is Roy's journey from here, and that is very much the other side of the coin. They will see the devastating effects of Hayley's decision on him."
How did you prepare for the physical change in Hayley?
"My natural rhythm is very fast and Hayley has always had her totter, so it was hard to slow it right down. Hopefully that is quite shocking to see, because she's always been so fast. That and weight loss were the only things I could do. It is noticeable on screen that I did lose weight and the make-up has also been really good."
How did you feel about Hayley being killed off?
"As soon as I told them that I wanted to go, I knew that it would happen. It wouldn't have made any sense otherwise. If Hayley had gone off to Africa or something like that, Hayley would be ringing Roy all the time and you have to let a character move on. This was the only possible end for Roy and Hayley."
What are your future plans? Are you worried that people will always see you as Hayley?
"I'll always be Hayley and I think that's just inevitable. I'm proud to be! I know that if I hadn't left now, I never would have. I'm doing a play at the Manchester Royal Exchange called Blindsided, which I auditioned for. It's very different than Hayley and very, very dark. I'm a very hard character in it, which is great."
Would you say Hayley has changed attitudes towards transgender people?
"It's hard for me to say, but apparently it has moved things forward in some way. At the beginning, the trans community weren't happy with the storyline. To be fair, it was initially portrayed as a bit of a joke. At the time we had a producer called Brian Park who wanted Roy to have a series of disastrous dates. The plan was just for Roy to fall for Hayley and then find out that she was a transsexual.
"In my head it was never like that. When me and David started working together, we both took it seriously and then I think the trans community said, 'Oh, this is actually changing attitudes'.
"Old ladies in the street would say to me, 'When are Roy and Hayley going to get married?' and I'd say, 'Well, they're not allowed to because of the law'. They'd be like, 'Never mind that!' Suddenly when it's two people you care about, the law becomes absurd. We were even mentioned in Parliament early on for changing attitudes, so I'm really proud of that.
"Now you couldn't have me playing a trans character, as it would be ridiculous. You'd have to get a trans actor to play Hayley. I'm very grateful that it was the dodgy 1990s! Back then, though, the pressure for a trans actor would have just been off the scale. There was enough pressure on me from some sections of the press who were saying a lot of stuff. If the actor was also trans, that would have been really hard, especially with the new fame to deal with. The story was of its time and served its purpose at the time."
Did you ever imagine that Hayley would become so popular?
"In a way yes, just because I knew it was working. I knew the character was good and I knew it was working between me and David. I knew I was only in the show for a short space of time, but in my head, I always knew I was coming back! I loved it.
"What did surprise me was that Corrie took on the storyline. I grew up on Brookside, which was the first soap to do issue-led stuff. I remember being really challenged by it, learning from it and seeing things in my life represented in a real way on that. Corrie back then was completely different and was never issue-based, so if I'd ever hoped to play a part like this, it would have been on a different soap. I never thought that Corrie would do anything like this, so it was a real opportunity."
Do you want Roy to find love again in the future?
"In reality, I don't think he would be with anyone else, but this is continuing drama, and drama has to exist in relationships between people. I think they'll have a lot of fun trying to find someone for him. With the sort of person Roy is, I think Hayley would be the only one for him, but he has to continue on in the show - and he has Hayley's blessing!"
