Emmerdale star Susan Cookson, who plays fan-favourite Wendy Posner, would’ve never made it to the Dales if it wasn’t for a single generous call.
When her other half, Coronation Street icon Malcolm Scates, passed away, Cookson was ready to give up on the world of show business.
But in a moment that occurred mere moments before she intended to announce her retirement, she was offered the role of a lifetime.
READ MORE: Denise Van Outen insists she can ‘trust’ her new man after ex broke her heart
As if it was written in the stars, Susan, was preparing to meet a nursing manager to retrain in the profession before she was asked if she’d like to star as a nurse in the popular soap.
Speaking to the The Daily Mirror, she said: “I was at a bit of a crossroads in my life through one thing and another and I decided that I wanted a more regular job. I started to think about changing careers and going into nursing.
“My husband, who is sadly no longer with us, had been very poorly and I’d nursed him. And I’d played a lot of doctors and nurses over the years, so it was a career I knew a bit about. I was in my car, about 10 minutes away from this meeting, when my phone went. It was Emmerdale producer Jane Hudson. I worked with her many moons ago on Casualty, but I’d not spoken to her for years.
“She said to me: ‘Look, I’m going to cut to the chase, we’ve got a new character and there’s nobody I’d rather play it than you. I know you’d be perfect for it. Do you want to come and live in the village with us? Do you want to have a think about it? And I said: ‘No, I don’t need to, the answer is yes!’ And then she added: ‘Oh, and by the way, she’s a nurse…’”
The Emmerdale icon married the love of her life back in 1993 and had two wonderful children, Ruari and Dan, whom they brought up in Sheffield.
And it’s fair to say Susan wasn’t the only one with acting blood racing through her veins. Malcolm starred in shows like The Inbetweeners and Waterloo Road. But his biggest role was in Corontion Street as brewery boss Philli Newton.
During his time on the cobbles, his characters clashed with Bet Lynch and Fred Elliot and fathered Henry Newton, who enjoyed a romance with Gemma Winter.
He also featured on Emmerdale, playing PC Mitchum, who played an integral role in the investigation of Eric Pollard’s antique frauds in 1993. In addition, he portrayed Carol Wareing’s criminal hubbie, Gordon, in July 2001 and returned in July 2021 as Henry Lewis.
Sadly, he left us in Septmeber 2016, but his legacy will live on in the hearts of soap fans forever.
For more of the latest showbiz news from Daily Star, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
