Hayley Cropper is a fictional character in the popular British soap opera Coronation Street. She joined the programme in January 1998 and is the first transsexual character in a British soap opera. She is played by Julie Hesmondhalgh.

Transsexual issues

Hayley joined the Street as Hayley Patterson, a shop worker at Firman's Freezers. Later, she became a machinist in Mike Baldwin 's lingerie factory, Underworld. Initially she did not reveal that she was a transsexual woman, but the news came out after her boss discovered a Tax Office error, wherein she was still registered as a man called Harold.

The handling of transsexual issues such as this, the uncertainty of whether her partner would accept her transsexuality and the inability of transsexual people to adopt children or marry has been praised by transgendered groups.

Private life

Hayley met Roy Cropper, a slightly odd anorak who owns and runs Roy's Rolls, a greasy spoon cafe, whilst she was still pre-operative. She 'married' him in a blessing ceremony in Roy's cafe after Roy followed her to Amsterdam where she went for her genital reassignment operation. After the ceremony, she revealed she had changed her name by deed poll from Hayley Patterson to Hayley Cropper.

Between them Hayley and Roy have fostered a number of children, but have not had any children placed with them after they ran away with a young boy, Wayne, despite the fact that they were trying to protect him from an abusive father. This episode led to them being arrested and to the threat of Hayley being sent to prison, though in the end she was not jailed.

Every so often her private life is interrupted by someone or something referring to her history: this could be one of the more 'yobbish' or gossipy characters calling her Harold or reciting her backstory, or may be something that directly refers to her being transsexual (such as her attempt to adopt).

She still works as a machinist for Underworld and she was supervisor there for a short while. As Harold Patterson, she was a county standard lawn bowls player. As of 2004 she remains one of the most popular characters on the Street.

See also: Coronation Street; List of transgender-related topics