Sue Cleaver, the veteran soap actress known for her role as Eileen Grimshaw in ‘Coronation Street’, has shared a shocking incident from her time on set. In her memoir ‘A Work in Progress’, she recalls being accidentally knocked out during a fight scene in 2012 by co-star Judy Holt, who played Lesley, the wife of Eileen’s firefighter boyfriend Paul Kershaw (Tony Hirst).
Despite having a stunt adviser and practising their manoeuvres, Sue was hit with an uppercut that left her unconscious. She said: “We had a stunt adviser and had spent some time practising our manoeuvres but unfortunately during a take Judy got a bit carried away.”
“An upward punch made contact with my face. I don’t remember anything else but apparently I dropped like a stone, out cold.”
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After being rushed to hospital for a scan, she was given the all-clear to return to work.
She added: “They ended up using the sound of the real punch, so it wasn’t all for nothing! ” In addition to this, Sue also opened up about overcoming alcohol dependency. Speaking to Prima magazine, she said: “I don’t have any fear around alcohol any more, and that is really freeing.”
“I never imagined getting to that state. I thought I had a dependency. I thought I couldn’t get by without having a glass of wine at night.”
“I thought life wouldn’t be great without a glass of wine. It would be absolutely great without wine. I just thought it wouldn’t.”
“It’s the thinking around it that is the problem.”
She also shared her positive outlook on ageing, stating: “So many people my age are depressed about 60, like it is the end of the line.”
“I absolutely don’t feel that way. I feel like the world is my oyster now.”