Julie Hesmondhalgh is to star in a new drama about modern homosexual life.
The 44-year-old actress has been cast alongside Freddie Fox and Vincent Franklin in Channel 4’s upcoming eight-part series ‘Cucumber’ – which was first announced last year and is set in Manchester.
The programme will offer a glimpse into the "passions and pitfalls of 21st century gay life" and Julie will portray Cleo, the sister of Vincent’s character Henry.
Other cast members include Cyril Nri, Fisayo Akinade, Con O’Neill, James Murray and Ceallach Spellman.
‘Cucumber’ – which is due to air in 2015 – is the new show from screenwriter Russell T Davies who was the creator of 1999 series ‘Queer As Folk’, which followed the lives of three homosexual men who lived in Manchester’s gay village.
Davies was also responsible for bringing ‘Doctor Who’ back to television in 2005 after a 16-year absence from screens.
Channel 4 is also filming a companion series entitled ‘Banana’ which will air on E4 and feature the same characters.
‘Cucumber’ will be Julie’s first TV role since she left ‘Coronation Street’ in January 2014 after playing transsexual factory worker Hayley Cropper for 15 years.
Her moving final scenes which showed Hayley take her own life after deciding she could no longer live with her terminal pancreatic cancer, passing away in the arms of her husband Roy Cropper (David Neilson), were watched by over 10 million viewers.
Julie Hesmondhalgh to star in new gay TV drama
