Actress Jane Hazlegrove has been involved in some of the ITV soap’s biggest storylines, from her son, Paul’s tragic death from motor neurone disease to some of the more ridiculous goings on on the cobbles
It’s fair to say the character of Bernie Winter didn’t get off to the best start when she first arrived on Coronation Street back in 2019, but her fifth year on the Cobbles has been her most heartbreaking yet.
Twins Gemma and Paul weren’t too happy to see their mother pitch up at first as she frequently lied and stole while they were growing up. With time, however, the troubled parent managed to win both her children round as well as viewers’ with her straight-talking attitude and fun spirit. Often involved in the slightly more ridiculous storylines in Weatherfield, fans have watched Bernie steal her pregnant daughter’s urine to sell fake positive pregnancy tests, as well as her various ‘sexcapades’ with Dev Alahan. But this year things became really heartbreaking for Bernie when her son, Paul, tragically died from motor neurone disease.
Unsurprisingly, actress Jane Hazlegrove’s own real life is a world away from that of her character. When she was first cast in the role, some had remarked that she had appeared “almost unrecognisable” as Bernie. The 54 year old actress has starred in numerous TV shows since 1984, though is best known for her role as Kathleen ‘Dixie’ Dixon in Casualty from 2006 until 2016. She briefly returned in 2019 for co-star Iain Dean’s exit. Away from her TV career, Jane has been married to former Emmerdale and EastEnders actress Isobel Middleton since 2015.
Coronation Street Bernie Winter star Jane Hazlegrove’s love life with her famous wife Isobel Middleton (Image: @jane_hazlegrove/Instagram)
Speaking previously about their relationship in 2019 during an interview on Lorraine, Jane said: “We’ve not [worked alongside each other], which is probably why we’re still together. She’s sensational, a really beautiful woman. I am very blessed. We relocated back to Manchester last year, before [Corrie]. It was time to get back to the north for all kinds of reasons and that makes me very happy.” Isobel starred as Sadie Banks in EastEnders in 2002 and played a number of roles in Emmerdale, including Dr Lane in 2014, a prosecution barrister in 2018 and Jean Rawson in 2020.
Sharing her excitement over her wife’s achievement at the British Soap Awards earlier this year, Isobel tweeted: “Very proud that my sublimely talented & hilarious wife has been nominated for Best Comedy Performance at the #soapawards2022 We can’t vote but if I could I would. Repeatedly. #JaneHazlegrove #BernieWinters #Corrie #funnybones.”
Jane is also one of the few actresses who has played a regular character in Corrie before going on to play another regular – but different – character. Back in 1985, Jane played cheeky teenager Sue Clayton, who was the daughter of Harry and Connie Clayton and lived at 11 Coronation Street (Eileen Grimshaw’s current home). The Clayton family were written out after less than a year after failing to make an impact on writers and viewers.
