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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Entertainment
Zara Woodcock & Gemma Jones

Coronation Street's Stephanie Beacham had home raided by 'hammer-wielding burglar'

Coronation Street's Stephanie Beacham faced a night of terror as her home was raided by a burglar.

The soap star was faced with a hammer-wielding burglar during a raid at her London home on September 25 last year, a court has heard. The actress, 75, was reportedly present at her home in Bayswater, West London, when she allegedly came face-to-face with the intruder.

Stephanie is said to have had several items stolen from her during the home invasion, including a chequebook, jewellery, keys, a purse and a mobile phone, reported The Mirror.

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56-year-old David Wilson was charged with aggravated burglary and robbery at the actress' home and he is due to face trial later this year. His charge states he entered the star's home 'as a trespasser' to steal her personal possessions.

It also states “at the time of the commission of the burglary", he had "a weapon of offence, namely a hammer”. Prosecutor Gregor McKinley called Ms Beacham an "elderly victim" and urged the judge to set a trial date for February.

The actress became a household name when she played glam Sable Colby opposite Joan Collins in the 1980s US soap, Dynasty. However, she previously said that appearing in the ITV soap as Ken Barlow’s former love interest has been her best role to date.

Stephanie, who plays Martha Fraser in Corrie, said: “Taking on a part where it doesn’t matter what I look like is a very exciting thing. It didn't matter how I was lit or what angle I was shot from. It makes me breathe a sigh of relief and think, ‘At last!’”

Stephanie revealed how playing Martha gave her a chance to use her formal training. She added: “The important thing was playing the character as I was taught – all those years ago at RADA – from the inside out, rather than all the concentration being on the external.

“Beneath the external packaging, so to speak, I am a perfectly developed and still developing creature with so much life experience to bring to a role.”

Along with Corrie, the Golden Globe-nominated actress starred in the Dynasty spin-off show The Colbys. She also had appearances in Bad Girls and Casualty. The star also impressed fans with her stint on Strictly Come Dancing in 2007 as well as Celebrity Big Brother in 2010.

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