Sherrie Hewson
Sherrie Hewson was born "Sherrie Lynn Hutchinson" on 17th September 1950 in Burton Joyce, Nottinghamshire. Although her mother ran a boutique and her father was in the gown business as their main occupations, he was also a singer with big bands. By the age of six, Sherrie was in revues around the country, tap-dancing and singing 'You've Gotta Have Heart'. She trained at RADA and in the 1970s adopted the stage name of "Hewson". She appeared on television in Z Cars, In Loving Memory, Home to Roost, Never the Twain, Love for Lydia, My Son, My Son, Flickers, Home, James!, Lovejoy, Haggard, The Bill and Minder. Her film credits include Carry on Behind and The Slipper and The Rose, and she appeared with Amanda Barrie in the original stage production of Stepping Out.
Before Coronation Street, she was best known for her comedy appearances in Russ Abbot's Madhouse, The Russ Abbot Show and Russ Abbot, as part of a regular ensemble which also included Susie Blake, Les Dennis and Jeffrey Holland. She joined the Street in 1993 in a role that was a deliberate pairing with Ken Morley as Reg Holdsworth's long-lost love Maureen Naylor and the two quickly became one of the most popular couples on the programme. Following Morley's decision to leave the show in 1995, she considered leaving herself in 1996 to return to a role in the BBC comedy Oh Doctor Beeching! but was persuaded to stay. Just one year later, controversial new producer Brian Park chose not to renew her contract, along with those of several other actors including Peter Armitage, who played Bill Webster, and the two departed together in Episode 4275 (3rd October 1997).
After a return to the theatre and appearances in many light entertainment shows, she appeared as part of the regular cast of the ITV comedy Barbara (1999-2003) and, from 2001-2003, appeared in the short-lived revival of Crossroads, followed in 2004 by a two-year stint in Emmerdale. A fleeting return for just two episodes to Coronation Street took place in December 2006, since which time she has continued to appear regularly on television, most notably on the panel of the daytime magazine programme Loose Women from 2003 to 2016.
For one week in 2011, she took to the stage of the Palace Theatre, Manchester, to fill the role of Narrator in Jonathan Harvey's hit play Corrie!, as part of its national tour. Other former stars to play the role on tour included Gaynor Faye, Ken Morley and Roy Barraclough.
In 2012, Sherrie returned to television comedy with a prominent role in the fifth series of hit ITV show Benidorm, as formidable hotel manager Joyce Temple-Savage, who she played until the end of the programme's run in 2018.