JULIE Hesmondhalgh always wanted to land a soap opera part which would get people talking.

Now the Hyndburn-bred actress is set to spark the armchair debate of the decade as the first ever transsexual to walk down Coronation Street.

Julie, 27, will play Hayley Patterson - a man (yes a man) awaiting the final surgery to become a woman.

It was a part she knew would spark controversy and one her parents, John and Maureen, who live in Church, near Accrington, had to be prepared for.

"I told them straight away, as soon as I had my first interview," said Julie.

"I knew if I got it there would be a hive of press interest. I warned them to brace themselves."

The storyline is the latest in a long line of rating boosting ideas by the Street's new boss, producer Brian Park.

Hayley arrives in just under a fortnight as a new recruit at Firman's Freezers and will then fall for odd-ball cafe owner Roy Cropper.

Roy's colleague Alma Baldwin - Mike Baldwin's wife - is her only female confidante.

But Julie insists the soap opera hasn't simply hit on an idea to win viewers using titillation and freak show tactics.

"It's Coronation Street; it's not EastEnders or Brookside," she explained.

"It will be handled in a very Coronation Street way."

Julie, who left Lancashire to live in London 10 years ago, describes Hayley as a tragically lonely and shy character who comes out of her shell as she falls for Roy.

She hopes that her portrayal will help people to change their thinking of transsexuals - even accept them.

"I am completely chuffed to get the part, if a little concerned. "I have no problem with the storyline but I am worried that I might get some stick from it.

"That's the thing I am most excited about in a way. It is a real opportunity to do something that is not just a character in a soap.

"It will be good to start people talking about something that most people are so ill informed about.

"I have always believed that soap operas have a duty to start debate and alter people's perceptions."

Granada Television initially considered using a man for the role but quickly decided it should be played by a woman.

Make-up artists and the costume department have done the remarkable job of turning her from a woman into a man who has undergone hormone treatment and is about to become female.

But the vast part of the work has been down to Julie herself who did most of her research in bookshops.

She said: "It is a condition that a lot of people have and something you are born with - knowing that you are a man but you are in completely the wrong body.

"My research has been mainly reading. It has been quite difficult to talk to people.

"Maybe I'll be able to do that face to face now the secret is out.

"I am really anxious to know how it is taken. Everyone at Granada wants it to be done sensitively."

Hayley will initially be part of the soap for three months and then leave to undergo the final part of her treatment.

But Julie's dream is that the character will return to spend the rest of her life with Roy.

"I'm hoping very much that it carries on, that she comes back. "Obviously that would be good for me as an actress but also for Roy and Hayley.

"I would like people to forget that she is a transsexual and simply think of her as a woman."

And it's local lass Julie who's got the tongues wagging

A SMALL comic role in Much Ado About Nothing landed Julie Hesmondhalgh the part which will make her the talk of television.

Julie, who was head girl at Moorhead High School, Accrington, moved to drama school in South London 10 years ago and now shares a flat with an actor friend.

She was appearing in Much Ado at Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre when the Street's casting director Judy Hayfield selected her for a screen test.

She said: "I was really surprised that they wanted me for the part, although I'm not the most feminine of women.

"I tend to wear flat shoes and have short hair.

"But I never said 'are you sure you want me for this?'"

Prior to starting work with the Street two weeks ago, Julie had already been in numerous theatre and television roles.

She appeared in Catherine Cookson's The Dwelling Place and has had bit parts in The Bill and Pat and Margaret.

Her friends in East Lancashire and London are over the moon but on their guard about the latest role.

"I rang one and pretended I was from a national newspaper," Julie laughed.

"Fortunately my friend referred them straight to Granada Television."

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