Jenny Connor (Sally Ann Matthews) is undisputed Coronation Street royalty.
Appearing first all the way back in 1986 as the foster daughter of Rita Tanner (Barbara Knox), with the introduction of her birth father, Alan Bradley (Mark Eden), leading to his infamous Blackpool tram death.
Mischievous, troublesome and flawed, Jenny continued to be a thorn in Rita’s side before the rebellious teenager fled Weatherfield in 1993.
Sally Ann reminisced on her early days on the cobbles with The Mirror: ‘It is a long time ago, though, it’s like 40 years, so changes happen! I feel very grateful that I was in it then and I was also put in with Barbara and Mark.
‘I’d not done anything, I was only 15 – so I learned everything from them. Nowadays, Barbara still tells me off and I say ‘Well you made me!”
Sally Ann departed the cobbles in October of last year, revealing that she felt a lack of excitement and joy at the prospect of playing Jenny for another year.
Sally Ann Matthews no longer enjoyed Coronation Street
Sally Ann returned as Jenny over 20 years later after rejecting initial return requests due to fear of typecasting.
After seismic storylines involving the death of her infant son leading to a psychotic breakdown and the kidnap of Kevin Webster’s young son, a marriage to Johnny Connor (Richard Hawley) and his subsequent sinkhole death, claiming ownership of the iconic Rover’s Return before losing it all after a scheme with step-daughter Daisy Midgeley (Charlotte Jordan), went wrong, Sally Ann decided to step away, with Jenny heading abroad to Tenerife.
‘Every year, when your contract comes round there’s that question: ‘Am I enjoying it?’ If I am, I say ‘Yes I’d like to stay’ she began when asked by The Mirror about her decision to leave the ITV soap.
‘When you come to a point where you’re not enjoying it, you say no,’
‘I’m very fortunate that I’m in a position where I can say, ‘I don’t want to do that’. It doesn’t excite me. It doesn’t challenge me. It doesn’t spark joy!
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‘I’m 55 now, I don’t wanna waste my time doing stuff that I’m not enjoying with people that I am not enjoying doing it with.’
‘I was switching off from the show a bit, I was supposed to go into The Kabin and then they couldn’t get The Kabin set in because there were lots of hospital sets and police station sets…’
Jenny went on to echo numerous complaints from viewers that show has become too reliant on crime storylines and police procedures.
‘We, as a cast, have been having these conversations for three or four years, and the crew – their family and people in the street, saying they don’t watch it anymore. They said ‘Oh it’s all about the police, I don’t know who anybody is.’
‘But all the research was coming back saying audiences want spoilers, non-linear storytelling, they watch true crime dramas on Netflix, so they want a lot of crime. So, apparently all these stories are all being led by audience opinion but I’m yet to meet a single audience member that feels that way.
‘It’s not just about looking back with rose-tinted glasses. The thing about soaps was about knowing those characters, knowing how they would react in a certain situation. Now, stories aren’t character-led.
‘If I wanted to watch a police drama, I’d watch Line of Duty. If I wanted to watch a hospital drama, I’d watch ER! I really think the soap genre should stick to its USP!
‘Obviously for ITV, Corrie brings in a big audience, which helps them hugely with their overall figures and it would be a big risk for someone to take, but Corrie needs to stay in its lane and be what it is – which is a soap!’
Sally Ann Matthews’ new role away from Corrie
Sally Ann’s new role as Patricia, the bolshy and French-butchering manageress in Here & Now: The Steps Musical is sure to provide the joy she found lacking in her role on Coronation Street.
The musical is an exercise of pure, unadulterated fun, one this humble writer has seen twice and rates among the best things I’ve ever seen in a theatre, written by Shaun Kitchener, a personal friend who absolutely didn’t slip me a crisp £20 to talk his masterpiece up…
‘I took my niece to see Steps when they were at the NEC in 2000, she was about six. In 2017, she took me to the NEC to see them,’ Sally Ann explained.
‘Then we went in 2021. And now she’s bringing her son, my great nephew, he’s five, to come and see our show. So we’re getting him indoctrinated with Steps at an early age! I remember my son being in his car seat in the back of the car at about 18 months, dancing to Tragedy!’
‘I never in a million years thought I’d be doing this! I’m not musical theatre-trained,’ she continued.
‘So I didn’t think I would ever do a musical . It all came about via Claire Richards. She didn’t tell me, but she actually asked the producers to approach me. So I messaged her and told her I’ve just had a phone call about Patricia. She said ‘Will you do it, please?’ Because she knows I just love Steps! It’s going to be a lot of fun.’
