Helen Worth is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Gail Platt in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street, a role that she has played since 1974. In 2014, she received the Outstanding Achievement Award at The British Soap Awards.
Early life
Cathryn Helen Wigglesworth was born to Alfred and Gladys Wigglesworth in Ossett and grew up in Morecambe, Lancashire. She was brought up in a middle-class family and attended private school. When she was eight her parents fostered Ghanaian-born Wilson Kpikpitse, who was sent to England as an overseas student at the age of eleven and remained with the family for eight years, but moved on following the death of Worth's mother, who was killed in a hit-and-run road accident while she was on a visit to Brighton. 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 BBC'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. After this period, she returned to Morecambe to finish her education and later attended the Corona Theatre School in London.
Career
After graduating from drama school, Worth worked in repertory theatre, which included a year with the BBC Radio repertory company. She has had uncredited bit-parts in the films Oliver! and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, and appeared on television in the Doctor Who story Colony in Space, The Doctors, Helen: A Woman of Today, Within These Walls and The Carnforth Practice. She joined Coronation Street in 1974 and has remained with the soap since then. Worth stated she does not plan to leave Coronation 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 Worth, Gail & Me, aired on ITV. The 30-minute documentary celebrated Worth's 40 years as Gail.
Awards
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 Worth received the British Soap Award for Scene of the Year in 2019 for a monologue she performed, which was also nominated for a BAFTA TV Award.
Personal life
Worth has a house in London. She married Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends narrator Michael Angelis in 1991. Worth forgave Angelis when he admitted to an affair in 1995, but they divorced in 2001 after he had another affair with model Jennifer Khalastchi. Following this, it was mistakenly reported by The Sun newspaper that Worth was dating London restaurant owner Simon Hopkinson. Worth married London music teacher Trevor Dawson on 6 April 2013.
Charity work
Worth is a patron of the Born Free Foundation, an international wildlife charity working throughout the world to stop individual wild animal suffering and protect threatened species in the wild. She appeared on television fronting campaigns and joined them at the House of Commons in 2006, to speak about the proposed changes to the Animal Welfare Bill and campaign for the retirement of Anne, the UK's last remaining circus elephant. She is a supporter of the charity ActionAid and has visited Sierra Leone in support of its work there.
