Coronation Street star Sue Devaney is currently at the centre of one of the ITV’s soap biggest storylines, after Debbie Webster was sent to

prison for a crash that wasn’t her fault. Upcoming scenes will see her family and lawyer hope they can get a sentence reduction due to Debbie’s dementia.

 

 

But in a new interview, Devaney revealed she may not even be playing Debbie if she’d taken early career advice to heart. The actor recalled that she was told she wouldn’t land many roles, and a casting director made a shocking suggestion, that she thankfully ignored.

Speaking to The Mirror, Devaney said: “When I was in London and I was starting out, I was told by a casting director that I could have an operation to put extra bone in my knees to make me taller, because I’d never work at my height.

She added that she used to go to auditions and put on a posh RP (received pronunciation) voice to try and come across as a “blank canvas”.

Nowadays though, her mentality has changed for the better. “At this age, I feel comfortable in my own skin,” she said. “I’m comfortable with the voice that I’ve got and I feel comfortable playing Northern women. When I was younger, I did anything to change that.

“Now I think acting is about knowing your limitations and knowing what you can do. I love Shakespeare, but I didn’t train, so give me Northern comedy and I know where I am with that.”

While Debbie’s is currently having an awful time of it on screen, Devaney said she has been relishing the opportunity to play a stripped-back version of the character.

She said: “It’s interesting to play somebody that, the whole front, the makeup, the way that they look, what they drive, who they marry, everything has to be on show. So when you strip all that back… It’s interesting to play.”

Coronation Street star Sue Devaney is currently at the centre of one of the ITV’s soap biggest storylines, after Debbie Webster was sent to prison for a crash that wasn’t her fault. Upcoming scenes will see her family and lawyer hope they can get a sentence reduction due to Debbie’s dementia.

But in a new interview, Devaney revealed she may not even be playing Debbie if she’d taken early career advice to heart. The actor recalled that she was told she wouldn’t land many roles, and a casting director made a shocking suggestion, that she thankfully ignored.

Speaking to The Mirror, Devaney said: “When I was in London and I was starting out, I was told by a casting director that I could have an operation to put extra bone in my knees to make me taller, because I’d never work at my height.

She added that she used to go to auditions and put on a posh RP (received pronunciation) voice to try and come across as a “blank canvas”.

Nowadays though, her mentality has changed for the better. “At this age, I feel comfortable in my own skin,” she said. “I’m comfortable with the voice that I’ve got and I feel comfortable playing Northern women. When I was younger, I did anything to change that.

“Now I think acting is about knowing your limitations and knowing what you can do. I love Shakespeare, but I didn’t train, so give me Northern comedy and I know where I am with that.”

While Debbie’s is currently having an awful time of it on screen, Devaney said she has been relishing the opportunity to play a stripped-back version of the character.

She said: “It’s interesting to play somebody that, the whole front, the makeup, the way that they look, what they drive, who they marry, everything has to be on show. So when you strip all that back… It’s interesting to play.”