Amanda Barrie claims she would have been fired from Coronation Street if she came out as bisexual

Coronation Street star Amanda Barry has revealed that she kept her sexuality a secret when she started working on the soap, as she believed she would be fired if she came out.

The actress, now 86, waited to come out as bisexual until 2003 at the age of 67, fearing it would hurt her career prospects.

Amanda joined the ITV soap in 1981, playing the role of the hugely popular, Alma Sedgewick, which she played until 2001.

At the time, she was married to theater director and actor Robin Hunter, whom she married in 1967. The couple separated in the mid-1980s and were still legally married when Robin died of emphysema in 2004.

Although she was married to a man, rumors of Amanda being bisexual kept swirling, with Amanda telling the Conversation Street podcast: ‘Every week I came to the office.

‘ They’ll go, “You’re coming out.” “Am I?” “Yeah, they have this thing.”

‘I spent a fortune on the solicitors because believe me if it were to happen to me at the time they wouldn’t have kept me in Coronation Street and I’d stick to that.

not because of them [the producers] But because of people, who would be anonymous, who might have said, “I’m not working with him.”

Iconic: Amanda joined the hugely popular ITV soap in 1981, playing Alma Sedgewick, a role she played until 2001 (portrayed in 1989)

Amanda notes that things are very different now because of members of the LGBT cast on the soap such as Antony Cotton, Daniel Brocklebank, and Rob Mallard.

He said: ‘Now, I fell, I said, “Bloody hell, are they opening a gay club in Coronation Street now?”

‘Whats up? how many are they? They are all coming out. Why didn’t they come out while I was there? I loved that there were a lot of hooks if they came out. I was ahead of the game.’

Amanda – whose character was killed off from the soap in 2001 The story of cervical cancer – turns out she’s still a big fan of the show, take note: ‘I look at it religiously. I will meet with the family now.

MailOnline has contacted a Coronation Street spokesperson for comment.

Husband: Amanda was married to theater director and actor Robin Hunter, whom she married in 1967 (pictured) The couple separated in the mid-1980s.

amanda said earlier Loose Women about her fears in 2016: ‘I remember being absolutely scared because I knew at the time, I guess I’m right to say, I would have lost my job.

‘Not now but I honestly believed in it. I also felt really guilty because they made me feel guilty.

‘I was playing the role of Alma and then I’ve had this whole life and I felt like I couldn’t look into anyone’s eyes.’

Amanda revealed her bisexuality in the 2003 autobiography It’s Not a Rehearsal, and starred in Bad Girls and Benidorm following her stint on Corey.

The actress married long-term partner Hilary Bonner in 2014.

Cute couple: Amanda revealed her bisexuality in 2003 autobiography It’s Not a Rehearsal and married longtime partner Hilary Bonner in 2014 (pictured in 2018)