Anne Reid

Anne Reid, MBE (born 28 May 1935) is a British stage, film and television actress, known for her roles as Valerie Barlow in the soap opera '' Coronation Street'' (1961–1971); Jean in the sitcom '' dinnerladies'' (1998–2000); and her role as Celia Dawson in ''Last Tango in Halifax'' (2012–2020) for which she was nominated for the British Academy Television Award for Best Actress. She won the London Film Critics' Circle Award for British Actress of the Year and received a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in the film '' The Mother'' (2003).

Early life

Reid was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, the daughter of Colin Norman Reid (1896–1979) and Annie Eliza (née Weetman) (1896–1980). She lived with her parents and three older brothers in Redcar, where she attended John Emmerson Batty primary school and the White House School. From the age of 11 she attended Penrhos College, a boarding school in North Wales, when her father was posted abroad as a foreign correspondent for ''The Daily Telegraph'': she visited her parents occasionally in India, Tehran and Beirut in the school holidays. Upon leaving school she moved to London to attend the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She then became a stage manager and worked in repertory theatre.

Television

''Coronation Street''

Although she had already appeared in other television programmes including ''The Benny Hill Show'' (1957), ''Hancock's Half Hour'' (1957) and ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1958), Reid's first major acting role was as the character of Valerie Tatlock (later Barlow) on '' Coronation Street''. Her character was very popular with the show's fans; as such, Valerie's marriage to Ken Barlow can be seen as an early example of a soap supercouple.

Valerie was the mother of the twins Susan and Peter. Reid joined the cast, initially for two months, starting in August 1961 and leaving in October. She returned to the programme to marry Ken on 1 August 1962, in a wedding watched by 15.8 million viewers. In 1965, Val and Ken had twins, and Granada Television received numerous congratulation gifts addressed to the couple.

In 1968, Reid played one of her most difficult parts in ''Coronation Street'' when Val was held hostage by a rapist. Although Val was not harmed, viewers sent in hate mail to the actor who played the rapist. In November 1970, Reid announced she was leaving ''Coronation Street''. In a 2011 interview with the '' Radio Times'', Reid said she had enough and wanted to do other things:

I was a basket case when I left! I'd already had too much of it. That kind of work suits some people, but it didn't suit me. It was my decision to leave and I was desperate, really desperate, to go. Because I knew I was good at comedy and there was no way that Valerie Barlow was ever going to be funny.

On 27 January 1971, 18.26 million viewers watched as Valerie Barlow was written out of the soap, dying after being electrocuted by a hairdryer with a faulty plug. On 1 and 3 February 1971, 18.92 million people watched the aftermath and the character's funeral.

Later work

Following a break from acting to bring up her son, during which time she made occasional TV appearances for Granada, such as in '' Crown Court'', Reid resumed her career on stage and television in the 1980s. She appeared in the TV Mini-Series ''The Mallens'' 1979-1980 as Mathilda Bentham. Reid was a regular performer with Victoria Wood, appearing in several of Wood's projects, including ''As Seen on TV'', the series ''Victoria Wood'' in 1989, '' Victoria Wood's All Day Breakfast'' and ''Pat and Margaret''. From 1998 to 2000, Reid played the major role of Jean in the BBC
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