# Anne Reid
**Anne Reid** (born 28 May 1935) is an English stage, film, and television actress whose career spans more than six decades, known for playing Valerie Barlow in the soap opera *Coronation Street*, Jean in [Victoria Wood](https://www.edgepedia.org/victoria-wood)'s sitcom *Dinnerladies*, and Celia Dawson in *Last Tango in Halifax*, and for her BAFTA-nominated lead role in the 2003 film *The Mother*.[1](https://theatricalia.com/person/vvj/anne-reid) • [2](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/anne_reid/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 28 May 1935, Newcastle upon Tyne, England[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0717176/bio/) |
| Training | Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA); began as a stage manager and in repertory theater[4](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/anne-reid/) |
| Breakthrough role | Valerie Tatlock (later Barlow), Ken Barlow's first wife in *Coronation Street*, from 1961 until the character was electrocuted by a hairdryer about a decade later[5](https://www.the-independent.com/news/uk/anne-reid-cbe-bafta-wales-newcastle-b2671789.html) |
| Landmark film role | May in *The Mother* (2003), directed by Roger Michell, opposite Daniel Craig; London Film Critics' Circle Award for British Actress of the Year, with BAFTA, BIFA, and European Film Awards nominations[4](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/anne-reid/) |
| Later television | Celia Dawson in *Last Tango in Halifax* (2012–2020), BAFTA TV nomination; Muriel in *Years and Years*; Lady Denham in *Sanditon*[1](https://theatricalia.com/person/vvj/anne-reid) • [6](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/jul/07/anne-reid-actor-interview-fame-desire-ambition-by-royal-appointment-theatre) |
| Honours | MBE in the 2010 Birthday Honours; CBE in the New Year Honours for services to drama[7](https://downloads.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/our-zoo.pdf) • [5](https://www.the-independent.com/news/uk/anne-reid-cbe-bafta-wales-newcastle-b2671789.html) |
| Broadway debut | At age 90, in Robert Icke's *Oedipus* at Studio 54 (2025)[8](https://www.tdf.org/on-stage/tdf-stages/anne-reid-is-chuffed-to-be-making-her-broadway-debut-at-90/) |
## Early life and training
Reid was born in [Newcastle upon Tyne](https://www.edgepedia.org/newcastle-upon-tyne), the daughter of Colin Norman Reid and Annie Eliza Weetman.[9](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/38098/anne-reid) Her father was a journalist, first for the Newcastle *Evening Chronicle* and later the *Daily Telegraph*, including a posting as Middle East correspondent; all three of her brothers also entered journalism.[5](https://www.the-independent.com/news/uk/anne-reid-cbe-bafta-wales-newcastle-b2671789.html) • [10](https://www.the-independent.com/news/people/profiles/anne-reid-s-slowburn-success-the-our-zoo-star-on-the-surgeon-s-knife-bedding-daniel-craig-and-having-a-lateblooming-career-9709445.html) She was sent to boarding school in [North Wales](https://www.edgepedia.org/north-wales) at around age ten, took elocution lessons that removed her Geordie accent, and her teacher told her parents she was a born actor.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/jul/07/anne-reid-actor-interview-fame-desire-ambition-by-royal-appointment-theatre)
She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, then worked as a stage manager and in repertory theater before moving into television.[4](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/anne-reid/) Her first television work included sketches on *The Benny Hill Show* and small roles in shows such as *The Adventures of Robin Hood* and *Hancock's Half Hour* in the late 1950s.[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0717176/bio/) • [2](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/anne_reid/)
## Coronation Street and the long middle years
Reid's first major television role came in 1961 as Valerie Tatlock, later Valerie Barlow, the wife of [Ken Barlow](https://www.edgepedia.org/ken-barlow) ([William Roache](https://www.edgepedia.org/william-roache)) in the ITV soap *Coronation Street*.[11](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/feb/19/tvandradio.comment) She remained with the show for about a decade; her character was written out when Valerie was electrocuted by a faulty hairdryer.[5](https://www.the-independent.com/news/uk/anne-reid-cbe-bafta-wales-newcastle-b2671789.html) She later said she chose to leave because she did not want to spend the rest of her career playing the same role, and that the soap's typecasting followed her: "Once you've done Coronation Street, you're working class. I do think that hangs about."[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0717176/bio/) • [12](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/news/coronation-street-anne-reid-itv-b2783849.html)
**A career gap and return.** Reid left acting to raise her son, Mark, and returned to work in the mid-1980s, partly through her association with Victoria Wood.[10](https://www.the-independent.com/news/people/profiles/anne-reid-s-slowburn-success-the-our-zoo-star-on-the-surgeon-s-knife-bedding-daniel-craig-and-having-a-lateblooming-career-9709445.html) Through the following decades she took supporting parts in British television, including *Casualty*, *Peak Practice*, *Midsomer Murders*, and *Doctor Who*, and voiced Wendolene Ramsbottom in the Wallace and Gromit film *A Close Shave* (1995).[12](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/news/coronation-street-anne-reid-itv-b2783849.html) • [13](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anne-reid) The association with Wood culminated in her role as the long-suffering wife Jean in Wood's BBC sitcom *Dinnerladies* (1998–2000), set in a Manchester factory canteen.[13](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anne-reid) • [1](https://theatricalia.com/person/vvj/anne-reid)
## The Mother and late recognition
Reid's career changed with *The Mother* (2003), [Hanif Kureishi](https://www.edgepedia.org/hanif-kureishi)'s drama directed by [Roger Michell](https://www.edgepedia.org/roger-michell), in which the 68-year-old Reid played May, a northern grandmother who begins an affair with her daughter's lover, played by a 35-year-old, pre-James Bond Daniel Craig.[10](https://www.the-independent.com/news/people/profiles/anne-reid-s-slowburn-success-the-our-zoo-star-on-the-surgeon-s-knife-bedding-daniel-craig-and-having-a-lateblooming-career-9709445.html) Michell cast her after seeing her play the mother in Peter Gill's *The York Realist* at the Royal Court in January 2002, describing her as the only possible choice for the part and praising the ambiguities of her face; producer Kevin Loader said the role required someone you would not look twice at in the street.[14](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/features/anne-reid-forbidden-fruit-93631.html) The film changed critical and industry perceptions of Reid, though it was not to everybody's taste; she noted the double standard in reactions to an older woman with a younger lover.[10](https://www.the-independent.com/news/people/profiles/anne-reid-s-slowburn-success-the-our-zoo-star-on-the-surgeon-s-knife-bedding-daniel-craig-and-having-a-lateblooming-career-9709445.html) The performance won her the London Film Critics' Circle Award for British Actress of the Year and brought Best Actress nominations from BAFTA, BIFA, and the [European Film Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/european-film-awards).[4](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/anne-reid/) • [2](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/anne_reid/)
## Last Tango in Halifax and later work
In 2012 Reid began playing Celia Dawson in [Sally Wainwright](https://www.edgepedia.org/sally-wainwright)'s BBC romantic comedy-drama *Last Tango in Halifax*, opposite [Derek Jacobi](https://www.edgepedia.org/derek-jacobi), as two widowed childhood sweethearts who reconnect after 60 years apart; the Bafta-winning series ran to five seasons and earned Reid a BAFTA Television Award nomination for Best Actress.[2](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/anne_reid/) • [15](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/streaming/looking-for-your-next-romance-binge-i-recommend-3-britbox-series-that-will-make-you-swoon) • [1](https://theatricalia.com/person/vvj/anne-reid) She has described the decade from *The Mother* to *Last Tango in Halifax* as a late blossoming after years confined to what she calls "skirt-and-jumper roles".[10](https://www.the-independent.com/news/people/profiles/anne-reid-s-slowburn-success-the-our-zoo-star-on-the-surgeon-s-knife-bedding-daniel-craig-and-having-a-lateblooming-career-9709445.html)
Her later screen work includes Muriel in [Russell T Davies](https://www.edgepedia.org/russell-t-davies)'s dystopian *Years and Years*, Lady Denham in the [Jane Austen](https://www.edgepedia.org/jane-austen) adaptation *Sanditon*, and a BAFTA TV-nominated performance in the [BBC One](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-one) true-crime drama *The Sixth Commandment* (2023).[6](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/jul/07/anne-reid-actor-interview-fame-desire-ambition-by-royal-appointment-theatre) • [12](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/news/coronation-street-anne-reid-itv-b2783849.html) Film credits include *Hot Fuzz*, *Song for Marion*, *The Aeronauts*, and *SAS: Red Notice*.[7](https://downloads.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/our-zoo.pdf) • [4](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/anne-reid/)
**Stage work.** Reid has appeared at the National Theatre and the Old Vic, and in 2025, at age 90, made her Broadway debut in playwright-director Robert Icke's adaptation of *Oedipus* at [Studio 54](https://www.edgepedia.org/studio-54), opposite [Mark Strong](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-strong) and Lesley Manville.[2](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/anne_reid/) • [8](https://www.tdf.org/on-stage/tdf-stages/anne-reid-is-chuffed-to-be-making-her-broadway-debut-at-90/) • [4](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/anne-reid/) She also portrayed Queen Elizabeth II in *By Royal Appointment*, directed by Dominic Dromgoole.[4](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/anne-reid/) • [6](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/jul/07/anne-reid-actor-interview-fame-desire-ambition-by-royal-appointment-theatre)
## Honours
Reid was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours and was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the New Year Honours for her services to drama.[7](https://downloads.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/our-zoo.pdf) • [5](https://www.the-independent.com/news/uk/anne-reid-cbe-bafta-wales-newcastle-b2671789.html) In 2025 she received the Rose d'Or Lifetime Achievement Award for a career spanning more than six decades.[16](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Anne-Reid/)
## References
1. [Anne Reid, Theatricalia](https://theatricalia.com/person/vvj/anne-reid)
2. [Anne Reid, British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/anne_reid/)
3. [Anne Reid Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0717176/bio/)
4. [Anne Reid, Independent Talent](https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/anne-reid/)
5. [Coronation Street and Dinnerladies star Anne Reid made a CBE, The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/news/uk/anne-reid-cbe-bafta-wales-newcastle-b2671789.html)
6. [Anne Reid on fame, desire and ambition at 90, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/jul/07/anne-reid-actor-interview-fame-desire-ambition-by-royal-appointment-theatre)
7. [Our Zoo press pack, BBC Media Centre](https://downloads.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/our-zoo.pdf)
8. [Anne Reid Is Chuffed to Be Making Her Broadway Debut at 90, TDF Stages](https://www.tdf.org/on-stage/tdf-stages/anne-reid-is-chuffed-to-be-making-her-broadway-debut-at-90/)
9. [Anne Reid, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/38098/anne-reid)
10. [Anne Reid's slow-burn success, The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/news/people/profiles/anne-reid-s-slowburn-success-the-our-zoo-star-on-the-surgeon-s-knife-bedding-daniel-craig-and-having-a-lateblooming-career-9709445.html)
11. [Screen life Anne Reid, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/feb/19/tvandradio.comment)
12. [Ex-Coronation Street star Anne Reid criticises ITV soap for pigeonholing her, The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/news/coronation-street-anne-reid-itv-b2783849.html)
13. [Anne Reid Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/anne-reid)
14. [Anne Reid: Forbidden fruit, The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/features/anne-reid-forbidden-fruit-93631.html)
15. [Looking for your next romance binge? 3 BritBox series, Tom's Guide](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/streaming/looking-for-your-next-romance-binge-i-recommend-3-britbox-series-that-will-make-you-swoon)
16. [Anne Reed (Anne Reid) theatre credits, BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Anne-Reid/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › English actors: 2000s onward › Surnames Q to Se*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license