Corrie's Hayley 'glad not to strip off'

Rex Features

Julie Hesmondhalgh has admitted that she was grateful for her lack of bikini scenes when she filmed Coronation Street's new Romanian Holiday DVD.

While Katherine Kelly's alter ego Becky McDonald is regularly seen in swimwear on the comedy spinoff, Hesmondhalgh's character Hayley Cropper opts for more conservative wardrobe choices during her stay in the Eastern European country.

Asked if she was jealous of her co-star, Hesmondhalgh replied: "Oh no. I'm just glad. It's so much less stressful playing my part than to do what she did. Even though she's absolutely gorgeous, it's not an easy thing to do."

On whether she expected Hayley to strip off in the sun, she added: "I don't think the world's ready for that."

The film sees Hayley and her husband Roy (David Neilson) jetting off to Romania for a wedding. While there, they encounter various mishaps and end up bumping into their surrogate daughter Becky.

Discussing her own fashion choices, Kelly told the Manchester Evening News: "In my mind she's on holiday with her parents and the thing is, Becky just doesn't care what she looks like.

"It's absolutely boiling and Becky's on holiday. She barely wears much in the show as it is. I think it was unavoidable. She would be in a bikini like all the other 20-somethings wear."

The Romanian Holiday release follows the success of last year's Out Of Africa DVD, which focused on Cilla Battersby-Brown (Wendi Peters) and her family.