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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Entertainment
Ryan Paton

Coronation Street newcomer's appearance gobsmacks fans as Brookside past uncovered

Coronation Street fans were gobsmacked as they uncovered a newcomer's Brookside past.

Friday's edition of the long-running soap saw Bernie Winter's doppelganger arrive on the Cobbles. The character had been on a shopping spree in tonight's' show and returned with Joseph's uniform and a posh blazer.

However, the blazer had been given to her in error, which prompted Chesney Brown and Gemma Winter to urge her to take it back. Bernie was surprised to then receive a knock on the door when she was greeted by Fern.

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However, viewers were distracted during the exchange when they uncovered she was played by Gabrielle Glaister. The 62-year-old star is known to fans for her role as Patricia Farnham in Brookside.

She played the character in the Liverpool based soap from 1990 - 1995 and fans on Twitter were blown away by her appearance on the show.

James said: "WOW Patricia Farnham ain't changed much in 3 decades."

Paige added: "Hello Patricia from Brookside"

@theindiereef tweeted: "OK fess up - who apart from me thought until recently that Bernie was Pat Farnham in Brookie?"

Helen commented: "Pat Farnham from #Brookside"

Gabrielle is also known for her roles as Bob/Kate in Blackadder and has previously appeared in Corrie as a different character in 2000. Jane Hazlegrove played Bernie and she came up with the idea for the plot when the two stars were constantly mistaken for each other.

She said: "I mentioned this idea to Jonathan a while ago. Gabby and I are constantly mistaken for each other with people saying they have seen one of us in something when it was the other one. We have often laughed about it together but then I started thinking it might be fun to have her in the show as Bernie’s secret twin or a doppelganger.

“I was so chuffed when they told me that they had devised this storyline and that Gabby was on board. Shortly after I had heard that we were doing the story, I was at the Soap Awards and someone who used to work with Gabby started talking to me thinking I was her. The actor was mortified when I pointed out who I was but of course I don’t mind being mistaken for Gabby, it is a huge compliment and secretly I was thinking ‘that’s brilliant, this storyline is going to work so well’.”

Gabrielle said: “Jane and I have been mistaken for each other for years and years. Me constantly denying that I was in Casualty, Jane insisting that she wasn’t in Brookside! Or people congratulating me on my performance in something I wasn’t in because it was Jane being brilliant. A very good friend of mine texted me last week to say he caught a bit of Corrie and thought I was very good. I pointed out that I wasn’t on screen yet!!

“When they approached me with the storyline It seemed like fate! What they’ve written is so clever and I’m having a ball working with Jane.”

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