Actress
She worked as a tax inspector before becoming an actor.
She trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, whose alumni include Terence Stamp , Nicholas Courtney , Julia Ormond , Rupert Friend , Angela Lansbury , Matthew Goode , Hugh Bonneville , Minnie Driver and Julian Fellowes.
She was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2009 Queens Birthday Honours List for her services to Drama and to To Charity.
She is a longtime friend of Pete Postlethwaite.
She gave birth to her only child at age 35, a son Joel Pammenter on June 2, 1979. Childs father is her ex-husband, David Pammenter.
She has one grandson, Rory (b. June 2012), via son Joel.
She is good friends with Elizabeth Dawn.
She lived in Muswell Hill, London for many years before relocating to Manchester in 2012.
She was in attendance at the wedding of her "Coronation Street" screen granddaughter Catherine Tyldesley s wedding to Tom Pitfield on May 21, 2016.
She became pregnant by her first husband Neil Johnston shortly before their separation in 1969 but she suffered a miscarriage.
