Coronation Street confirms role details for Absolutely Fabulous star Helen Lederer
Newcomer Elspeth appears later this month.
Coronation Street has shared the official details of Helen Lederer’s guest role in the show as newcomer Elspeth.
The Absolutely Fabulous star appears for a one-off episode later this month, featuring in scenes with original cast member Bill Roache.
Corrie‘s upcoming storyline sees Bill’s character Ken Barlow visit the Chariot Square Hotel for a singles’ cocktail night.
Ken catches Elspeth’s eye, so she sends drinks over to him and his son-in-law Steve McDonald.
Before long, Elspeth is invited to join their table to get to know Ken better. Steve is left frustrated over Ken’s success with the ladies, lamenting the fact that he hasn’t managed to meet anyone himself.
Speaking about the role for the first time, Helen commented: “It came out of the blue but for me Coronation Street, of all the soaps, is the most substantial and ironic with such humour, it’s really a class act. So when you get the call for Coronation Street you drop everything.
“And to be offered a part playing a role opposite William Roache is even more exciting. I had met him once before when I sat next to him at an event and I thought what a lovely man he was and so personable. So for me to be offered this brief role was a joy.“
She continued: “Elspeth is quite a forward person. She is someone who is not afraid to put lipstick on and get her hair done, make an effort with her nails and pull the velvet draped dress over her slightly fuller figure and sit at the bar by herself with an open heart and an open mind. She is bold and proud to be there on her own and speak to people.
“She is bold – she does something which is often something that men will do to women. She gets Debbie to send over two drinks to Ken and Steve to get Ken’s attention.
“I think bold is a very key word now for this generation of women of a certain age who still want to live their life. If she wants to have a chat with a person she thinks ‘I’ll do that’.
“So many people would have the fear of being rejected but she doesn’t. She takes the initiative and she is not disappointed as Ken is open to getting to know her.
“At this stage of our lives we should grab every moment. What is the worst that can happen, someone might say no and that is her attitude. Being older you just have the attitude of ‘some you win, some you lose’. Otherwise you’d never do anything. So it’s a case of sort of saying look up, look up, don’t look down.”
Although Elspeth only appears in one episode for now, Helen confirmed that she’s open to returning to the role in the future.
She said: “The answer to that is ‘most definitely’. Ken had Steve to deal with but he was certainly interested in her. He definitely made sure he got her number, he initiated it. So who knows one day he might actually call her and I can come back to Weatherfield.”
