- Personal Appearances
Topics:
- Soap Stars
Julie Goodyear
Goodyear was born in Heywood, in Lancashire, England. She was awarded the Order of the British Empire on 1 January 1996, via inclusion in the New Year's Honours List. Her autobiography entitled Just Julie was released on November 3rd 2006. In it she talks about her relationships with men and women.
She is most famous for playing barmaid-turned-proprietor Bet Lynch on the British soap opera Coronation Street. She started playing the role for a brief time in 1966, but left when senior cast member Patricia Phoenix advised her to get some more training. It was at that time she joined Oldham Repertory Theatre. Goodyear returned in 1970 and played, arguably, the Rovers' most famous barmaid until retiring in 1995. She quit Coronation Street in 1995 just after winning the "Lifetime Achievement Award" for her role as Bet Lynch in the first ever National Television Awards.
In 2005, she was one of the celebrities taking part in the popular ITV1 reality TV series, Celebrity Fit Club, alongside friend Ken Morley. She was originally made team captain but quit the role after six weeks, the role was taken over by Aldo Zilli. She lost 1 stone 10 pounds, and her team won the show. She shocked everyone at the final weigh-in by announcing that in 1979/80 she was given a year to live, having being diagnosed with cervical cancer, of which she was to make a full recovery.
