Sherrie Hewson

Sherrie Lynn Hutchinson (born 17 September 1950)[1] is an English actress, television personality and novelist. She is known for her roles on the ITV soap operas Coronation Street (1993–1997, 2006), Crossroads (2001–2003) and Emmerdale (2004–2006).

Sherrie Hewson
Hewson in 2009
Born	Sherrie Lynn Hutchinson (1950-09-17) 17 September 1950 Nottingham, England
Education	Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Occupation	Actress television personality novelist
Television	Coronation Street Crossroads Loose Women Emmerdale Benidorm Celebrity Big Brother
Spouse(s)	Ken Boyd ​ ( m. 1983; div. 2011)
Children	1

She was a panellist on lunchtime chat show Loose Women (2003–2017) and played Joyce Temple-Savage in the ITV sitcom Benidorm (2012–2018). In 2015, she came sixth place in Celebrity Big Brother.

Early life

Born in Nottingham,[2][3] Hewson was brought up in Burton Joyce in a show-business family; her father was a singer and her mother was 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". She was granted a scholarship to attend the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Early career

Hewson's television and 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 with 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 get invited to join Russ Abbot's Madhouse series where 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 Henshaw in the popular sitcom In Loving Memory with Thora Hird and Christopher Beeny.

Career

In 1993, Hewson was cast as Maureen Webster in the UK's longest-running soap opera, Coronation Street, a dizzy, accident-prone supermarket assistant dominated by her mother. 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, including Maureen. Hewson's final episode was broadcast in October 1997. In December 2006, she returned as Maureen Webster for two episodes.

Hewson 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,[4][5][6] Noel's House Party and Call My Bluff among others. In 1999, Hewson was cast as Jean in the sitcom Barbara.

In 2001, Hewson joined the cast of another soap opera, as receptionist Virginia Raven in the revival of Crossroads.

In 2003, Hewson became a regular panellist on Loose Women, an ITV daytime programme. On 3 August 2016, Hewson announced her departure from the show, with her last episode being 5 September 2016.

In 2004, Hewson appeared 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 revealed that her decision to appear was partially influenced by the breakdown of her 20-year marriage to husband Ken Boyd.

In 2004, Hewson joined the cast of Emmerdale as Lesley Meredith, mother of fishmonger Simon. She departed the show on 27 December 2006.

In 2007, Hewson made a number of non-acting television appearances. As well as Loose Women, she appeared in Celebrity MasterChef, Dickinson's Real Deal and was runner-up in Soapstar Superchef partnered with her former Emmerdale co-star Julia Mallam. Hewson also appeared on a celebrity special of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.

In 2012, Hewson joined the cast of the sitcom Benidorm. Since its fifth series, she has appeared as Joyce Temple-Savage, the new manager of the Solana Hotel.[7]

On 18 January 2015, Hewson took part in celebrity talent show Get Your Act Together with plate spinner illusionist Andrew Van Buren.[8]

In August 2015, Hewson took part and was a contestant in the sixteenth series of Channel 5 television show Celebrity Big Brother. She reached the final on Day 29, and finished in sixth place.

In February 2016, Hewson won the role of Mrs. Slocombe, in a remake of the BBC's 1970's and 1980's sitcom Are You Being Served? taking over the part made famously by the late Mollie Sugden. Only the pilot of this revival was made.

In August 2016, Hewson announced that she was to leave Loose Women after 14 years.[9] In 2018, she took part in ITV's 100 Years Younger in 21 Days.[10]

Writing

In March 2008, Hewson won BBC reality show Murder Most Famous winning 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. In 2011, she released another book called Behind The Laughter. On 13 February 2014, Hewson published a cookbook called Nana's Kitchen.[11]

Personal life

In May 1983, Hewson married Ken Boyd, whom she met in 1976, and had a daughter in 1984. The couple later separated after he admitted to having an affair. On 19 October 2011, Hewson announced on Loose Women that she and Boyd had divorced. She has professed to having a passion for Thai cuisine which forms an integral part of her diet.[12]

In 2007, after over thirty years in show business, Hewson declared bankruptcy. She described the experience as like having "a dreadful, contagious disease".[13]

Hewson is a cousin of retired footballer Garry Birtles.[2] Hewson's mother died in 2012.[14]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role
1975	Carry On Behind	Carol
1976	The Slipper and the Rose	Palatine
1979	Hanover Street	Phyllis
1981	Singles	Sophie Baines
1982	Radio Phoenix	Virginia Strong
2021	The Krays: New Blood	Joan
TBA	For the Love of Ella	Lady Garson

Television

Year	Title	Role
1975	Carry On Laughing	Various
1977	Love for Lydia	Nancy Holland
1979	My Son, My Son	Nellie Essex
1980	Minder (Ep. "The Old School Tie")	Olive
1982–1984	Russ Abbot's Saturday Madhouse	Various
1987–1988	Home James!	Paula
1988–1991	The Russ Abbot Show	Various
1991	Lovejoy	Lily Gruber
1995	Oh, Doctor Beeching!	May Skinner
1993–1997, 2006	Coronation Street	Maureen Webster
1999–2003	Barbara	Jean Nesbitt
2001–2003	Crossroads	Virginia Raven
2003–2016, 2017	Loose Women	Regular panellist (2003–2016) Guest panellist (2017)
2004–2005, 2006	Emmerdale	Lesley Meredith
2007	Soapstar Superchef	Contestant
2012–2018	Benidorm	Joyce Temple-Savage
2015	Get Your Act Together	Contestant
	Celebrity Big Brother	Housemate
2016	Are You Being Served?	Mrs. Slocombe
2018	100 Years Younger in 21 Days	Participant
2018	Celebrity 5 Go Caravanning	Participant

Guest TV appearances

• Lily Savage's Blankety Blank (1998) – Panellist
• Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? – Contestant
• 10 Years Younger (2004) – Celebrity participant
• Hole in the Wall (20 September 2008) – Contestant
• Ten Mile Menu (29 July 2010) – Participant
• Come Dine with Me: Celebrity Special (12 December 2010) – Contestant
• Pointless Celebrities (5 May 2012) – Contestant, with Carol McGiffin
• All Star Family Fortunes (20 January 2013) – Contestant
• Tipping Point: Lucky Stars (18 August 2013) – Contestant
• The Chase: Celebrity Special (21 December 2013) – Contestant
• The Cube: Celebrity Special (28 December 2013) – Contestant, with Lisa Maxwell and Denise Welch

References

1. "SHERRIE HEWSON: GOODBYE TO BENIDORM". Steve Orme. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
2. "Not always been sunshine in Sherrie's life of laughter". Nottingham Post. 18 March 2011. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 26 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
4. "ITV Series 1, Episode 4". Lily Savage's Blankety Blank. 28 January 2001. ITV. Repeated 23 August 2016 on Challenge TV.
5. Lily Savage's Blankety Blank. 8 April 2001. ITV.
6. Lily Savage's Blankety Blank. 29 April 2001. ITV.
7. "Sherrie Hewson". IMDb. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
8. "ITV challenges celebrities to Get Your Act Together". "ITV Press Centre". Retrieved 11 January 2017.
9. "Sherrie has emotional announcement". Itv.com. August 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
10. "100 Years Younger in 21 Days Episode 1". Itv.com. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
11. "Nana's Kitchen". panmacmillan.com.
12. Loose Women, 12 September 2008, Retrieved on 14 September 2008
13. "Sherrie Hewson: 'Bankruptcy was like suffering a disease'". Daily Telegraph. 9 March 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
14. Loose Women, 7 February 2013

External links

• Sherrie Hewson on IMDb