Helen Worth

Background

Cathryn Helen Wigglesworth was born to Alfred and Gladys Wigglesworth in Leeds and grew up in Ossett, Wakefield She was brought up in a middle-class family and attended private school.

Career

Worth"s grandmother lived in Bradford and ran a boarding house for music hall performers, which prompted her desire to perform. She took dancing lessons from the age of three, and took part in many school theatrical productions. At the age of ten, she read stories on Granada Television"s Scene at 6.30, and appeared in an episode of British Broadcasting Corporation"s Z-Cars.

At the age of twelve she played one of the von Trapp children in a stage production of The Sound of Music, at the Palace Theatre in London, a role that kept her in London for nine months.

Following this she returned to Morecambe to finish her education and later attended the Corona Theatre School in London. After graduating from drama school, Worth worked in repertory theatre, which included a year with the British Broadcasting Corporation Radio repertory company.

She has had roles in films such as Oliver! (1968) and The Prime of Mission Jean Brodie (1969 – she is clearly visible in the assembly scene at about 1hr 49mins), and has appeared on television in the Doctor Who story Colony in Space (1971), The Doctors, Helen: A Woman of Today (1973), Within These Walls (1974) and The Carnforth Practice (1974). She joined Coronation Street in 1974 and has remained with the soap since then

Recently, Worth has said she plans never to quit the street, saying she"s happy with Gail"s never ending drama, and that it"s a job she loves.

In an interview with GMTV in January 2010, Worth said she loves Gail"s storylines and praised the writers for giving her some great plots over the years, and which she hopes will continue On 9 June 2014, a one-off special about Helen Worth, Gail & Maine, aired on Independent Television. The 30-minute documentary celebrated Worth"s 40 years as Gail.

Achievements

• Worth has been honoured twice with the Outstanding Achievement Award" at awards ceremonies for her performance as Gail in Coronation Street. In September 2006, Worth won the "Outstanding Achievement Award" at the Inside Soap Awards. Then, on 25 May 2014, Worth won the "Outstanding Achievement Award" at The British Soap Awards 2014.