Corrie's Roy and Hayley 'get best plots'

Julie Hesmondhalgh has praised the storylines that Coronation Street writers give Roy and Hayley Cropper.

The actress, who has played transsexual Hayley since 1998, told PA that their unusual character quirks drive the scriptwriters to be more inventive with their plots.

She explained: "Because nobody else would have them, the scriptwriters have got to be a bit imaginative with us - they can't just keep splitting us up and sending us off and having affairs and having children and things.

"They've got to be a bit more imaginative, so it's great - it works out good for us."

Hesmondhalgh added: "I really, really, really hope Roy and Hayley stay together.

"I've said this before, but they are, despite how unusual they are as people, they are the most conservative couple on the Street really. And you need that. You need a couple of people who just love each other and stay together through thick and thin."