‘I ditched fame for normal job after being killed off by Coronation Street’

Becky Hindley, who starred as bunny boiler Charlotte Hoyle on Coronation Street before being killed off, has swapped soap fame for something completely different

Former Coronation Street star Becky Hindley has spoken of how she has ditched soap fame for a normal job – 15 years on from when she was killed off during one of the soap’s most dramatic storylines. The actress, 60, played teacher Charlotte Hoyle in the long-running serial, which turns 65 on December 9, throughout 2010 and was a key part of the programme’s Golden Anniversary.

Upon her introduction, Charlotte quickly realised that her new colleague, known as Colin Fishwick, was actually John Stape and he had been forced to take on the fake identity after being sacked from the profession following his affair with sixth former Rosie Webster. Charlotte developed a crush on John and when the real Colin dropped down dead during an argument, she helped him hide the body.

John later tried to get rid of Charlotte, but she stalked him and blackmailed him into pretending they were in a relationship, and when he refused to leave his wife Fiz (Jennie McAlpine) for her, she tried to attack him with a hammer.

She then threatened to storm round to the Rovers to tell Fiz the truth, so John grabbed the hammer and hit her with it. Just as he was about to call the emergency services, The Joinery bar exploded, which led to a tram coming off the viaduct, and John was able to pass her off as one of the victims. Medics did find a pulse in Charlotte, but when she was declared braindead in hospital, her life support was switched off.

For more than a decade, Becky, who made appearances on The Bill and Casualty throughout her television career and also narrated audiobooks, has been able to explore her passion for flowers instead and has set up her own business.

She said: “Probably about 10 years ago now, I just decided to have a little change. I always enjoyed gardening and in between acting jobs I worked in florist shops. I looked on Google to see what I could do, and I found something called Flowers from the Farm, which is a fantastic movement that is basically people growing their own flowers. So I thought I’d try that. I set up my business and I used to do weddings, and events.

“Now I don’t do any of that, now what I do is, I love going for walks and finding things and make things out of those. I do workshops with that, and I do workshops with my gardens. A cutting garden and I grow my own flowers, people can come and join me for a cup of tea and a piece of cake. We have a chat, and they pick flowers and it’s a very nice experience.

“This year, because I turned 60, I decided to mark it, so I hired a camper van and I took one of my workshops gathering things and making things. It’s trying to make people see nature. So I toured round the UK, me and my dog, in my camper van and we had a fantastic time. It was a great experience, we met some fabulous people, went to some brilliant places, from Suffolk to Inverness.”

Prior to her soap fame, Becky had mostly worked in the theatre and while she has positive memories of working on the programme, she admitted she was a “little bit disappointed” that producers had taken the decision to get rid of her character permanently after a relatively short stay in Weatherfield.

Speaking on the Conversation Street podcast, she said: “It was very, very different and to be part of such an iconic soap like Coronation Street was a real joy. I knew a few people on it, not many, but everyone welcomed you with opened arms and it was really lovely.

“I was a little bit disappointed that I died. It would’ve been nice to have come back but they had my funeral and everything like that. I would have been very happy for it to go on for another couple of years.” In the programme’s 50th anniversary, Charlotte’s death was one of several, with the whole saga being marketed as Four Funerals and a Wedding.

Butcher Ashley Peacock (Steven Arnold) died in the initial explosion and Molly Dobbs (Vicky Binns), had just walked out on Tyrone Dobbs when she ended up in the rubble of the corner shop following the tram crash, eventually passing away from her injuries after telling Sally Webster (Sally Dynevor) with her dying breath that her husband Kevin was the father of her baby. The fourth death was said to be that of an unnamed taxi driver, whilst Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson) tied the knot with Peter Barlow as he lay in a hospital bed.

In the latest episode of Coronation Street, which aired on the eve of the anniversary, there were several Easter eggs that served as a nod to the latest milestone. A notice outside The Kabin featured an advert for Florizel Street, which was the working title of the programme dreamed up by creator Tony Warren.

Glenda Shuttleworth, played by West End legend Jodie Prenger, was seen singing along to jazz standard On the Sunny Side of the Street as the episode opened and a birthday banner for Rovers Return owner Maggie Driscoll, also turning 65, hung over the famous pub.