Sherrie Hewson

Sherrie Hewson
Born	Sherrie Lynn Hutchinson 17 September 1950 (1950-09-17) Burton Joyce, Nottinghamshire, England
Nationality	British
Ethnicity	White British
Alma mater	Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Occupation	Broadcaster, novelist, actor
Years active	1972–present
Employer	ITV
Television	Coronation Street (1993–97, 2006) Crossroads (2001, 2003) Loose Women (since 2003) Emmerdale (2004–06)
Spouse	Ken Boyd (m. 1983) «start: (1983-05-01T20:11)»"Marriage: Ken Boyd to Sherrie Hewson" Location: (linkback://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherrie_Hewson) (Divorced)
Children	1 daughter

Sherrie Lynn Hutchinson (born 17 September 1950) is an English actor, broadcaster and novelist.

Early life

Born in Nottinghamshire, Hewson was brought up in a showbusiness family; her father was a singer and her mother a model. She began performing at the age of six, touring the UK's theatres in revues with her own signature song, "You've Got to Have Heart". At the age of fifteen, she won the prestigious Olivier Award for Best Newcomer, and two years later, was granted a scholarship to attend Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Upon graduating, Sherrie won seven major awards, including Best Actress and Best Comedy Actress.

Career

Hewson's screen career began in the early 1970s, with early television appearances in Z Cars, The Moonstone and Within These Walls. In 1975, she joined the Carry On team for the film Carry On Behind and was subsequently cast in several episodes of the Carry On Laughing television series.

As well as further film roles in The Slipper and the Rose alongside Richard Chamberlain and Edith Evans and Hanover Street with Harrison Ford, Hewson became a regular fixture on television, most notably as part of a young cast of future stars in Love For Lydia. She also had a brief role in the 1979 Alan Bennett drama Afternoon Off as Iris, the ultimately unworthy object of the protagonist Lee's quest.

In the 1980s, as well as appearances in dramas such as Play for Today, The Sandbaggers, Minder, Juliet Bravo and The Gentle Touch, Hewson's talent for comedy saw her invited to join Russ Abbot's Madhouse series and she remained an integral part of his team for over ten years, later appearing in The Russ Abbot Show.

Other comedy appearances included roles in Home to Roost, Home James!, Never the Twain and Haggard, while she was also a popular foil for various comedians, including Stanley Baxter, Les Dawson, Little and Large, Cannon and Ball and Les Dennis. Her most famous role during this period was as Mary in the popular sitcom In Loving Memory, alongside Thora Hird and Christopher Beeny.

In 1993, she was cast as Maureen Naylor in the UK's longest-running soap opera, Coronation Street, the dizzy, accident-prone supermarket assistant. In 1996, Hewson was due to leave the show to film the first series of the BBC's Oh, Doctor Beeching!, reprising her role of May Skinner from the 1995 pilot. Although the part had been written with her in mind, Hewson agreed to sign a new contract at the request of the Coronation Street producers, who had storylines planned for her character, and Julia Deakin took over the role of May. However, in 1997, Coronation Street's new producer Brian Park axed a number of characters, Maureen was among them. Hewson's depating episode was broadcast in October 1997.

Hewson subsequently returned to the theatre – appearing in Billy Liar and several pantomimes – and radio, notably as the lead character in a series entitled The Circle. She was also in great demand for light entertainment programmes, and made appearances on Blankety Blank, Noel's House Party and Call My Bluff among others. In 1999, Hewson was cast as Jean in the sitcom Barbara.

In 2001, Hewson made a second foray into the world of soap opera, as receptionist Virginia Raven in the revival of Crossroads. When Crossroads ended in 2003, Hewson became a regular panelist on Loose Women, an ITV1 daytime magazine programme aimed at women.

In 2004, Hewson took part in a celebrity edition of makeover show 10 Years Younger and underwent cosmetic surgery to her face as well as a hair and fashion overhaul. She later revealed that her decision to appear was partially influenced by the breakdown of her 20-year marriage to husband Ken Boyd.

That same year, Hewson joined the cast of a third soap opera, Emmerdale, playing Lesley Meredith, mother of fishmonger Simon. She remained with the show for two years. In 2006, she was invited to resurrect the character of Maureen for two Christmas editions of Coronation Street. 2007 saw Hewson make a number of non-acting television appearances. As well as Loose Women, she featured in Celebrity MasterChef, Dickinson's Real Deal and was runner-up in Soapstar Superchef alongside her former Emmerdale co-star Julia Mallam. Hewson also appeared on a celebrity special of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?. In partnership with fellow Loose Women panellist Carol McGiffin, she raised £75,000 for charity.

On Sunday 7 October 2007, the News of the World revealed that, after over thirty years in showbusiness, Hewson had been forced to declare herself bankrupt. She described the experience as "humiliating".

Writing

In March 2008, Hewson took part in the BBC reality show Murder Most Famous and was declared the winner. She won the opportunity to write her own crime fiction novel, The Tannery, which was published on 5 March 2009 by Pan Macmillan as one of their 'quick reads', released annually as part of the World Book Day celebrations.

Publications

• The Tannery (2009)
• Behind The Laughter (2011)

Personal life

Hewson has one daughter, Keeley (born 1984), from her marriage to Ken Boyd whom she met in 1976, they married in May 1983, she later separated from Boyd after he admitted to having an affair. Hewson announced on Loose Women on 19th October 2011, that her and Boyd are now divorced. She has professed to having a passion for Thai cuisine which forms an integral part of her diet.

External links

• Sherrie Hewson at the Internet Movie Database
• Sherrie's profile at itv.com