Sue Nicholls has become 'awfully more opinionated'

11 December 2018

Sue Nicholls has become "awfully more opinionated" and developed road rage since growing older.

Sue Nicholls

The legendary 'Coronation Street' actress - who has played Audrey Roberts on the ITV soap since 1979 - admits her language is "appalling" when she is driving a car, as is her "sign language", since she has "become ancient".

The 75-year-old star said: "I think actually funnily enough in the last years when I've become ancient I think I've changed a bit and I'm talking late 60s, early 70s, I think I had changed.

"Maybe it's my mindset that has changed. I'm awfully more opinionated and don't drive with me because my language is appalling. My sign language is hot as well.

"I've spent most of my life happily smiling and not saying much of interest and suddenly I find that I'm actually quite opinionated.

"I've got a touch of something, you know when people do have a slight disability and they tell the truth and it's not rude but you think, 'Oh gosh I wasn't expecting that.' "

Audrey is rarely seen driving on the cobbles, which may explain partly why Sue admits she is happier in the fictional world of Weatherfield than she is when she steps off the street set and returns to real life.

She said: "It's a pathetic thing to say but I'm happier in this strange little world of Weatherfield with all the terrible things that do happen over the years, people getting killed and god knows what, than I am with the real world.

"I can't cope with the real world.

"So I kind of like this so I don't know if that makes me a rather feeble, elderly person, so I enjoy it. I enjoy what I have to do."

Sue believes it would be "interesting" to have a 'Corrie' character "heavily into" the #MeToo movement, a campaign against sexual harassment and sexual assault which became particularly prominent soon after movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was accused of sexual abuse by multiple women in October 2017.

She added to The Sun newspaper: "Yes there's #MeToo but that's another part of life now, which we didn't have before and that's quite interesting.

"You know, that would just help any series as well, if you've got a character that's heavily into that. It's another issue that can be explored and that's interesting too."