Happy Valley star Mollie Winnard has opened up on receiving negative comments over her Coronation Street role.

The actress has recently been appearing in the third season of the BBC police drama in the role of Joanne. Her character is at the centre of a domestic abuse and addiction storyline connected to protagonist Sgt Catherine Cawood (Sarah Lancashire) and her teenage grandson Ryan (Rhys Connah).

Prior to her Happy Valley role, Winnard was best known for portraying scheming Kayla Clifton on Corrie in 2018.

mollie winnard , sarah lancashire, happy valley season 3
BBC

Related: Happy Valley star responds to theory of multiple endings being filmed

Speaking with The Sun, the actress opened up on being trolled over her appearance online, with people suggesting she has undergone cosmetic surgery since her soap stint.

"A very few ­people made nasty ­comments about my appearance, ­saying I'd had work done on my bum and my lips, when I hadn't," she said.

"That stuck in my brain a bit, but then I forgot about it because the vast majority of people are positive."

mollie winnard attends the inside soap awards
Getty Images

Related: Why Happy Valley season 3 is more important than you realised

Happy Valley returned for a third series after a seven-year hiatus. First aired in 2014, the BAFTA-winning crime drama released a second season in 2016. In 2020, creator Sally Wainwright revealed there would be a third instalment, which began airing on January 1.

Wainwright is also behind the prematurely axed period drama Gentleman Jack, starring Vigil's Suranne Jones and Peaky Blinders' Sophie Rundle.

The queer series revolved around the diaries of Anne Lister (Jones), a Yorkshire landowner known for her multiple liaisons with women in the 1800s.

The series was cancelled in July 2022 when co-producer HBO said it wouldn't move forward with it past its second season. The BBC is currently seeking a co-producing partner to fund a third instalment.

Happy Valley airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.


Read more Coronation Street spoilers on our dedicated homepage

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Jack Duckworth and Me by Bill Tarmey
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Stefania Sarrubba

Reporter, Digital Spy

Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy

Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).