Coronation Street legend Thelma Barlow explains how new film lured her out of retirement
The 95-year-old has a lead role in new film Sleepless in Settle.
This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine.
Having retired more than a decade ago, it took a special project to lure Thelma Barlow back into the spotlight. When the actor, beloved as Mavis in Coronation Street and dinnerladies’ Dolly, read the script for the 22-minute film Sleepless in Settle, she couldn’t resist becoming a leading lady again.
Barlow, now 95, plays Barbara, whose attempt to find her middle-aged son Alan (played by Graham Turner) a romantic partner leads to some comedic misunderstandings. It’s a charming story that will make you smile, and with a refreshingly age-positive message that was important to its star.
“Old people are mostly portrayed as miserable, but that is not the case,” Barlow tells RT. “Old age is difficult, things do get slower and it’s very annoying sometimes, but Barbara has plenty of life. They say it’s a second childhood, and there is something in that — you have to adjust to needing help. But Barbara and her son laugh a lot.”
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The part was created for Barlow by her friend, writer/director Judy Flynn (who acted in The House of Eliott and The Brittas Empire and also appears in the film). “She asked to write something for me,” Barlow reveals. “I was familiar with her work and knew it would be good. The characters are so well drawn, it was a joy. Good writing is easy to learn, there are some lovely lines that reminded me of when I joined Coronation Street.”
Barlow’s role as timid Mavis Wilton, née Riley, made her name. Contracted for just one 1971 episode originally, she became a Street regular between 1973 and 1997, before returning to her first love, theatre, and to star in Victoria Wood’s dinnerladies (1998—2000).
“People liked Mavis because she was vulnerable, though she went from a mouse to a shrew when she married indecisive Derek!”
Sleepless in Settle was shot in three days, with a small crew, on location in Rye, East Sussex, which Barlow says was perfect for her. “I’d be terrified of working in a big studio again,” she admits. “I wouldn’t want that responsibility and it takes a lot of energy. Although I’ve got plenty of that at the moment!”
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