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Helen Worth

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Helen Worth
MBE
Born
Cathryn Helen Wigglesworth

(1951-01-07) 7 January 1951 (age 73)
Ossett, West Riding of Yorkshire, England[1]
OccupationActress
Years active1961–present
Known forRole of Gail Platt in Coronation Street
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1991; div. 2001)​
Trevor Dawson
​
(m. 2013)​

Helen Worth MBE (born Cathryn Helen Wigglesworth; 7 January 1951) is an English actress. She is best known for portraying the role of Gail Platt in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street for 50 years (1974–2024). In 2014, she received the British Soap Award for Outstanding Achievement.

Early life

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Cathryn Helen Wigglesworth was born to Alfred and Gladys Wigglesworth in Ossett and grew up in Morecambe, Lancashire. She was brought up in a middle-class family and attended private school.[2] Her mother was killed in a hit-and-run road accident while she was on a visit to Brighton.[3]

Career

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After graduating from drama school, Worth worked in repertory theatre, which included a year with the BBC Radio repertory company. She had uncredited bit-parts in the films Oliver! (1968) and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969), and appeared on television in the Doctor Who serial Colony in Space (1971), The Doctors, Helen: A Woman of Today (1973), Within These Walls (1974) and The Carnforth Practice (1974).

Worth joined Coronation Street in 1974.[4] She initially stated that she did not plan to leave the series, and said she was happy with her character Gail's never-ending drama, and that it was a job she loved. In an interview with GMTV in January 2010, Worth said she loved Gail's storylines and praised the writers for giving her some strong plots over the years, which she hoped would continue.[5] On 9 June 2014, a one-off special about Worth, Gail & Me, aired on ITV. The 30-minute documentary celebrated Worth's 40 years as Gail.[4] In June 2024, ITV announced that Worth had decided to leave Coronation Street after 50 years, with Gail set to make her departure from the soap later in the year.[6] Following speculation regarding Gail's exit storyline, ITV bosses confirmed that she would have a "happy ending".[7]

Personal life

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Worth has a house in London. She married actor Michael Angelis at Chelsea Register Office on 18 January 1991.[8] Worth forgave Angelis when he admitted to an affair in 1995, but they divorced in 2001 after he had another affair with model Jennifer Khalastchi.[9][10] Following this, it was mistakenly reported by The Sun newspaper that Worth was dating London restaurant owner Simon Hopkinson.[11] Worth married Trevor Dawson, a primary school teacher, on 6 April 2013 at the St James's Church in London.[12]

Charity work

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Worth is a patron of the Born Free Foundation, an international wildlife charity working throughout the world to stop individual wild animal suffering and protect threatened species in the wild. She appeared on television fronting campaigns and joined them at the House of Commons in 2006, to speak about the proposed changes to the Animal Welfare Bill and campaign for the retirement of Anne, the UK's last remaining circus elephant.[13]

She is a supporter of the charity ActionAid and has visited Sierra Leone in support of its work there.[14]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1963 Z-Cars Maisie Episode: "By the Book", credited as Helen Wiggleworth)
1968 Oliver! Urchin Uncredited
1969 The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Schoolgirl Uncredited
1969 A Handful of Thieves Rosie Recurring role
1970 Confession Cynthia Episode: "Just as the Sun Was Rising"
1970 The Doctors Elsie Gibbs
1971 Doctor Who Mary Ashe Colony in Space
1971–1972 Time of Your Life Pauline Jackson Main role
1972 The Strauss Family Elsa Episode: "Schanni"
1973 Helen: A Woman of Today Mandy 2 episodes
1974 Within These Walls Betty Episode: "The Group"
1974 ITV Sunday Night Theatre Susan Pitt Episode: "No Harm Done"
1974 The Carnforth Practice Ann Pollock Episode: "Undue Influence"
1974–2024 Coronation Street Gail Platt Regular role; 4,454+ episodes
1981 Peter-No-Tail Molly Silknose Film
2010 East Street Gail Platt

Awards and nominations

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Year Association Category Work Result
2006 Inside Soap Awards Outstanding Achievement Award Coronation Street role as Gail Platt Won
2014 British Soap Awards Outstanding Achievement Award Coronation Street as Gail Platt Won
2019 British Soap Awards Scene of the Year Coronation Street as Gail Platt Won
2019 BAFTA TV Awards Must-See Moment Coronation Street as Gail Platt Nominated

Worth has been honoured twice with the Outstanding Achievement Award at awards ceremonies for her performance as Gail in Coronation Street. In September 2006, Worth won the "Outstanding Achievement Award" at the Inside Soap Awards. Then, on 25 May 2014, Worth won the "Outstanding Achievement Award" at 2014 British Soap Awards.[15] She also received the British Soap Award for Scene of the Year in 2019 for a monologue she performed, which was also nominated for a BAFTA TV Award.

Worth was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2022 Birthday Honours for services to drama.[16]

References

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  1. ^ Crawford, Sue (7 March 2010). "Coronation Street's Gail in Jail: Helen Worth on soap's hottest story". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 16 June 2010.
  2. ^ Crawford, Sue (7 March 2010). "Coronation Street's Gail in Jail: Helen Worth on soap's hottest story". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 16 June 2010.
  3. ^ Rimmer, Alan. "Long-lost secret brother of Coronation Street star Helen". Sunday Mirror. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Gail & Me". ITV Press Centre (Press release). 30 May 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
  5. ^ Rimmer, Alan (26 September 2006). "Rival soaps tie on awards night". BBC. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  6. ^ "Helen Worth to Bid Farewell After 50 Years on the Cobbles". ITV. 5 June 2024. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  7. ^ Soni, Divya (14 July 2024). "Coronation Street rules out tragic Gail ending". Digital Spy. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  8. ^ Ziemer, Laurette (18 January 1991). "Street's Gail Tilsey weds". Evening Standard. p. 20. Retrieved 28 December 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Crawford, Sue (7 March 2010). "Coronation Street's Gail in Jail: Helen Worth on soap's hottest story". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 16 June 2010.
  10. ^ "Coronation Street's Helen Worth talks for the first time about her marriage break-up sadness". Daily Mirror. 12 March 2001. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  11. ^ Eva Wiseman (18 July 2009). "Helen Worth on Simon Hopkinson". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  12. ^ Rigby, Sam (6 April 2023). "'Coronation Street' Helen Worth marries partner Trevor Dawson". Digital Spy. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
  13. ^ "Helen Worth". Born Free. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  14. ^ "Helen Worth in Sierra Leone for ActionAid". Coronation Street Blog. 14 October 2009. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
  15. ^ Profile, itv.com. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
  16. ^ "No. 63714". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 June 2022. p. B26.
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