Amandaland’s Joanna Lumley unrecognisable in Coronation Street role from 1970s

Before rising to fame as Patsy Stone in Absolutely Fabulous, Joanna Lumley had a short stint as a resident of Weatherfield on Coronation Street in the 1970s.

Dame Joanna Lumley returns to our screens tonight, reprising her role as the snooty Felicity from Motherland in the new spin-off series Amandaland. With a career spanning decades, the veteran actress has portrayed numerous unforgettable characters.

She first gained fame as Purdey in The New Avengers before cementing her status as the iconic Patsy Stone in Absolutely Fabulous. However, before these legendary roles, she briefly appeared on the cobbles of Weatherfield.

At 78, Joanna Lumley first appeared on Coronation Street in 1973 as Elaine Perkins, the love interest of Ken Barlow (played by William Roache). Famous for her signature blonde locks, she sported long brunette hair on the soap, looking completely different from her Ab Fab persona.

Her stint on the show was short, lasting only eight episodes, but she made a memorable impression when Ken proposed. However, Elaine—and more so Joanna—was never destined to stay in Weatherfield, as she declined his offer.

Reflecting in 2023, she admitted that viewers loathed her for crushing Ken’s hopes. “Ken Barlow proposed to me, and my character said no!” she exclaimed with mock indignation on her friend Gyles Brandreth’s Rosebud podcast, as reported by the Express.

“I asked, ‘Couldn’t she just say yes so I could stay on [the soap] for more than eight episodes?’ But they told me, ‘No, you’re just a temporary character—we have someone much more significant lined up!'” Joanna recalled.

“I said, ‘But I could stay! Do I really have to say, ‘It’s so boring living in Coronation Street?’ Do I have to say that?'” Joanna lamented. “They insisted, ‘Yes, you do,’ and, of course, the public hated me!” she groaned. “I had just turned down Ken Barlow and declared that life in Coronation Street was dull. I thought my career had hit rock bottom.”

Joanna’s character was then made to call Ken Barlow (played by Bill Roache) a “provincial twit” after he professed his love for her and accused her of being “permissive” with other men.

Her on-screen alter ego coldly dismissed him before disappearing from Weatherfield for good, leaving Joanna disappointed. After Corrie, with the public backlash still fresh, she turned to catalogue modelling to make ends meet—a move she found disheartening.

“I know it might sound snobbish because catalogue work is a great job, but for a model, it was the lowest point!” she admitted to Gyles.

However, three years later, Joanna landed her breakthrough role as Purdey in The New Avengers, even sparking a hairstyle trend. Yet, despite the fame, it didn’t translate into wealth.

“I assumed it would change my financial situation—but it didn’t. They were incredibly tight-fisted. They locked me into a five-year contract and told me, ‘The first two years are rock bottom, but after that, your earnings will skyrocket. By the end, you’ll practically own Scotland!'” she recalled.

“I thought, ‘This is perfect for me!’ But what they conveniently failed to mention was that they planned to cancel the show after just two years!” Joanna quipped.

Ironically, she later became Mrs. Barlow in real life when she married conductor Stephen Barlow in 1986.

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