Emmerdale star Susan Cookson nearly quit acting before Wendy role
Emmerdale's Wendy Posner may now feel like an integral part of life in the village, but things could have been different if actress Susan Cookson hadn't received a vital phone call when she did.
The star, who joined the ITV soap as Wendy in 2019, has revealed that she was planning on giving up acting before she received the call inviting her to play the character.
In fact, she was only 10 minutes away from having a meeting about retraining as a nurse.
After nursing her late husband, actor Malcolm Scates, through his terminal illness before his sad death, the actress had decided to make a change in her career, she told The Mirror.
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As she was on her way to meet a nursing manager to talk about retraining, she received a life-changing call from Emmerdale producer Jane Hudson.
"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," she explained, adding that caring for her husband had made her consider nursing.
"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...'"
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Cookson added that, just a few weeks earlier, she had been reciting affirmations about landing a role on Emmerdale, saying that it had been "incredibly weird when Emmerdale called me out of the blue", as she hadn't discussed her desires with anyone.
"Maybe it was just a coincidence, but I think there is more to life than we know and that things aren't necessarily black and white, so maybe it did work," she said.
"I also like to think that my husband is watching over me and taking care of me and the boys [sons Ruari and Dan] and that he had a hand in it."
Cookson, who previously played another nurse, Maggie Coldwell, in Casualty, also praised Wendy's current storyline, which sees her betraying partner Bob Hope by having a steamy affair with her colleague, Dr Liam Cavanagh.
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"When they pitched this story to me, I was initially like: 'Oh my God, really? At my age! Would Liam really go there?' My reaction was to feel sorry for Jonny (McPherson, who plays Liam): 'Oh God, he's going to have to kiss me, poor guy!'
"And then I thought: 'It's not me, it's a character I'm playing, of course I can do that, we're both professional actors'. I've always said I'm done in terms of relationships, but this storyline has made me realise that if I did want to, I probably could and it would be okay.
"If it can make me feel like that, then hopefully it will make other women in their 50s and 60s realise that they're not written off in their 50s and 60s."
But with Victoria Sugden now onto Wendy and Liam, are the days of their secret affair numbered?
Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV1, and streams on ITVX.
Read more Emmerdale spoilers on our dedicated homepage
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