A FORMER Coronation Street star has been in Bradford to encourage working class students to pursue a career in the arts.

Julie Hesmondhalgh, who played Hayley Cropper in the ITV soap opera for 16 years, gave a speech and took part in a question and answer session at Bradford College.

She spoke to aspiring actors, make-up artists and production workers at the college, and bemoaned the introduction of tuition fees and loss of maintenance grants and government support that had allowed her to afford to go to drama school.

The 46-year-old, who will be in the next series of ITV hit Broadchurch, told of her frustration that youngsters who did not have wealthy parents to help them through higher education were being put off careers in TV, theatre and film.

“It is a lot harder for people from poorer backgrounds to get into the arts now than it was in my day,” she said. “I want youngsters from working class homes, like mine, to feel that working in the arts is possible, that there is a place for them and that there are lots of people ready and willing to help them.

“Hopefully, by telling them my experience of making it, they can be inspired and feel confident that it is a realistic career.

“If we make it more and more difficult for ordinary young people to go into the arts, make it too much of a risk for them, then we end up having arts run by a small, elite section of society and that is not good for society.

“If arts become the preserve of the rich there will be no one to tell the stories about our world.”

The event was organised by Arts Emergency, a charity that helps young people from diverse backgrounds get into the arts.

Mrs Hesmondhalgh said: “Arts Emergency is a fantastic idea. It aims to create an Old Boys’ Network for people who don’t have one.

“It pairs youngsters looking to get into the industry with people already in it. They get to shadow their mentor, visit sets, meet up regularly, get practical advice and make contacts.”

The college will become Arts Emergency’s first base in West Yorkshire.

Damien O’Keeffe, head of the college’s Northern School of Creative Industries, said: “We are very excited to become an Arts Emergency centre. It is a cause that resonates with the college.”

He added: “The creative industries contribute £84 billion a year to the UK economy. It is booming.

“But we need diversity in the industry for it to continue to thrive.”

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