Helen Worth

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. Her mother was killed in a hit-and-run road accident while she was on a visit to Brighton.After graduating from drama school, Worth worked in repertory theatre, which included a year with the BBC Radio repertory company. She had uncredited bit-parts in the films Oliver! (1968) and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969), and appeared on television in the Doctor Who serial Colony in Space (1971), The Doctors, Helen: A Woman of Today (1973), Within These Walls (1974) and The Carnforth Practice (1974). Worth joined Coronation Street in 1974. She initially stated that she did not plan to leave the series, and said she was happy with her character Gail's never-ending drama, and that it was a job she loved. In an interview with GMTV in January 2010, Worth said she loved Gail's storylines and praised the writers for giving her some strong plots over the years, which she hoped would 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. In June 2024, ITV announced that Worth had decided to leave Coronation Street after 50 years, with Gail set to make her departure from the soap later in the year. Following speculation regarding Gail's exit storyline, ITV bosses confirmed that she would have a "happy ending".