Hayley Cropper (also Patterson) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, played by Julie Hesmondhalgh. The character first appeared in the episode first broadcast on 26 January 1998. Hayley was the first transgender character in a British soap opera and was the first permanent transgender character in the world of serialised drama. She was married to Roy Cropper (David Neilson). After nearly ten years on the show, Hesmondhalgh decided to take a break for a year in order to spend more time with her family. She left on 22 October 2007 and returned on 17 November 2008.
Hesmondhalgh won numerous awards for her portrayal of Hayley, but announced her departure from the show on 11 January 2013. Her final scenes were filmed on 18 November 2013 and aired on 22 January 2014. In the episode, Hayley takes her own life, after living with terminal pancreatic cancer. Hesmondhalgh has insisted that it was a "right to die" storyline not 'an assisted suicide' storyline. Hayley's funeral aired on 31 January 2014.
Hesmondhalgh's portrayal of Hayley, and her on-screen chemistry with fellow actor David Neilson, encouraged the writers to allow the character to evolve from a brief love interest for Roy to a popular long-term character. Hayley would go on to spend 16 years on Coronation Street, always seeing the good in people and nurturing Fiz Brown (Jennie McAlpine) and Becky McDonald (Katherine Kelly) from troubled young women to kind, caring, individuals. In her later years, Hayley formed an unlikely, yet notably close, friendship with Carla Connor (Alison King) and although it was obvious the pair were from completely different walks of life, they came to respect and care for each other.
Character creation Casting
Initially, it was intended that Hayley would only appear for two months, it was thought that this would help increase ratings as well as show a new side to Roy Cropper (David Neilson). Actor Julie Hesmondhalgh first came to the attention of the casting director while dressed in drag in a production of 'Much Ado About Nothing'. Hesmondhalgh only knew she was auditioning to play a "fun" character, so arrived "all Bet Lynch, in [her] leopard skin and red lippy". When she learned Hayley would be transgender, she was nervous, but "then it dawned on me that this was actually my 'dream job' and I desperately wanted it."When Julie Met Hayley: The Original Interview with Julie Hesmondhalgh with Beaumont Magazine Columnist Samantha Johnson . Transgender Zone 1998 The character of Hayley Cropper is around four years older than Hesmondhalgh.
Characterisation and identity What's on TV describes the character as quiet, and kind-hearted.Who's Who – Hayley Cropper What's on TV, Retrieved 16 December 2008 For a short period of time, after the actor took a one-year break from the show, the producers decided to change her ways.Hayley Cropper's Corrie Return. My Park Magazine (27 August 2008) Retrieved on 16 December 2008. After a brief period of resettlement, she resumed her more familiar temperament of being generally supportive and friendly to the other characters.
Development
Relationships Hayley's only romantic relationship is with Roy. The characters were first friends and they started a relationship, until Hayley revealed her past history. Roy initially rejected her, but missed their friendship and three months later, followed her to Amsterdam where she was living on a houseboat, recuperating from her surgery. He persuaded her that they should work on their relationship, and as a result, she returned to Weatherfield where she became a machinist in Mike Baldwin's (Johnny Briggs) lingerie factory, Underworld.
Roy later proposed to Hayley at a fancy-dress disco on St. Valentine's Day 1999. At that time, they could not legally marry, since Hayley was still seen as a male in the eyes of the law. Eventually, they found a female vicar who would help them, and they were united in a blessing ceremony held in Roy's Rolls on 23 April 1999. As a wedding present to Roy, Hayley officially changed her name by deed poll to Hayley Anne Cropper.
Since the passing of the Gender Recognition Act 2004 in UK law, it has been possible for transgender people to change the gender on their birth certificates. This was legally valid when marriage was only for different-sex couples. In 2010, following a discussion of the ramifications of their not being legally married, Roy and Hayley decided to make it official. It was revealed that Hayley had applied for, and received, her new birth certificate, and so, after some disagreements about the cost and motives for marriage, the plans were made for the wedding. The couple finally married on 30 August 2010 at a stately home in Cheshire, and almost everyone but the bride arrived by steam train.
Their relationship was tested by various storylines including Tracy Barlow's (Kate Ford) deceit, Hayley's secret son and Hayley's absence from the street. Briefly, upon her return, there was a difficult situation where she had developed a crush on one of her co-workers in Africa (further reading below). They eventually worked out their differences.
Pancreatic cancer and suicide On 11 January 2013, it was announced that Hesmondhalgh would leave Coronation Street at the end of her contract. The actress recorded her final scenes on 18 November 2013, being screened on 20 January 2014, and the producers came up with a dramatic exit storyline for her character. Hesmondhalgh revealed that she wanted to pursue new projects, saying "I've had the most wonderful and happy time in the life changing 15/16 years I've been in Corrie, and I owe so much to the show and the special team that make it happen. The decision to hang up Hayley's red anorak was a tough one, but doing the play at the Royal Exchange last year made me realise that there's life in the old dog yet (!) and that there are other things I want to try." Hayley's exit storyline saw her diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. On 20 January 2014, Hayley died in Roy's arms after drinking a lethal cocktail. The episode attracted 9.7 million viewers – the show's highest figure in almost a year.
Storylines Hayley Patterson is a shy shop supervisor at Firman's Freezers. Her friend and colleague Alma Baldwin (Amanda Barrie) introduced her to Roy Cropper (David Neilson) and they became friends — until Hayley told him that she is transgender and used to be called Harold. Roy cannot cope and initially rejects her but realises that their friendship is more important than Hayley's secret. After affirming their mutual attraction, Hayley goes to Amsterdam for private gender reassignment surgery. When she returns to Weatherfield, she starts work at Underworld. Hayley chooses not to disclose her transgender status, but she is forcibly outed when Alma's husband and factory boss Mike discovers a Tax Office error, showing her deadname. Mike fires her as a result. Although the factory staff and Street residents initially taunt her, she eventually gets her job back and most Street residents gradually accept her.
In 2001, Roy and Hayley decide to become foster parents. Their first child is teenager Fiz Brown (Jennie McAlpine), who returns to care after falsely claiming that Roy hit her. Fiz returns later that year and becomes good friends with Roy and Hayley. The couple then foster a young boy, Wayne Hayes (Gary Damer), but go on the run with him, wanting to protect him from his abusive stepfather. They are arrested for kidnap and Hayley is held on remand for objecting to her bail conditions but is released when Wayne's mother makes a statement about her marriage. This prevents Roy and Hayley fostering, or working with, any more young people.
In 2003, while Hayley is away, nursing her sick aunt, scheming Tracy Preston (Kate Ford) bets Bev Unwin (Susie Blake) that she can bed the man supposedly least likely to be unfaithful — Roy. Tracy drugs Roy at Peter (Chris Gascoyne) and Shelley Barlow's (Sally Lindsay) wedding reception and claims to have slept with him. Roy is desperate to keep this from Hayley but breaks down and admits everything. When confronting Tracy, the Croppers are stunned when Tracy tells them that she is pregnant with Roy's baby and plans to have a termination if the Croppers do not want to adopt it. Roy and Hayley see an opportunity to raise a child and pay Tracy £25,000. The Croppers' relationship becomes increasingly strained, including a suicide attempt by Roy, but they pull through. Roy gets suspicious when Tracy goes on holiday for 3 weeks and realizing how easy it would be for Tracy to disappear with the cash and the baby, Roy insists she marry him (giving him parental responsibility of the baby) or the deal is off. She agrees and they marry. After the baby is born, Tracy admits to Peter that Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson) is the father (they had a one-night stand shortly before she spent the night with Roy). The baby's true paternity is revealed at Steve's wedding to ex-wife Karen (Suranne Jones), when Tracy demands that baby Patience be returned to her and the Croppers, heartbroken, do so and Tracy repays the cash to Roy and Hayley. Steve and Karen marry, despite Tracy's bombshell, and Karen gets her revenge by gatecrashing the christening. Patience Cropper is renamed Amy Barlow and the Croppers are her godparents.
Following the death of her aunt Monica in September 2007, Hayley discovers that she has a son, Christian Gatley (Andrew Turner). She hires a private investigator to track him down and introduces herself as his aunt. Roy confronts Hayley when he sees money has been withdrawn from their joint bank account and she tells Roy everything. Disapproving of lies, Roy insists Hayley tell Christian the truth about how they are related and Hayley does but Christian does not react well and storms off. When Hayley finds him later, Christian is still angry and punches her when she refuses to leave him alone. On her return to the café, she makes it clear that she blames Roy and this causes problems. They decide to go camping in a bid to mend their issues. Following this, in October 2007, Hayley leaves the Street to go on volunteer work in Mozambique for a year.
Hayley returns in November 2008; it is clear that she is not entirely happy, appearing evasive and she tells Roy that she wants to return to her charity work, as she has fallen for Olaf, the project team leader. When catching up with Tilly, another volunteer, she learns Olaf is not the man she thought he was and decides to stay with Roy. She decides not to return to Underworld and wants to become a social worker but her police record (for the abduction of Wayne in 2001), rules her ineligible to work with children. She works in the café and then becomes supervisor at the factory in 2009.