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AN ACTRESS who went down in Brookside’s soap history looks unrecognisable 28 years after her controversial incest storyline hit the small screen.

The long-running programme, which was broadcast on Channel 4 and also featured the likes of now-Corrie star Claire Sweeney, 53, wrapped for good in November 2003.

PA:Press Association

Channel 4

Helen Grace’s character Georgia Simpson left fans stunned when she started a relationship with her younger brother Nat[/caption]

Channel 4

Helen told how she took on the Channel 4 role ‘for the experience’[/caption]

Yet it was Helen Grace’s incest storyline in 1996, when her character Georgia Simpson was involved in an incestuous relationship with her younger brother Nat, which kick-started her career.

At the time Helen, now 53, told how she took on the Brookside role “for the experience.”

Their uncomfortable relationship was seen developing during a fishing trip.

Helen’s character sported shoulder-length blonde hair and natural make-up, similar to her current appearance off-screen years later.

She left Brookside in 1997, before moving on to BBC One show Roger Roger.

The Hertfordshire-born star then went on to bag roles in a host of well-loved shows including Lewis, Midsomer Murders, Bad Girls and Cold Feet.

Most recently, she showed off her age-defying look in CBBC series Hetty Feather.

Despite playing an older character, a hospital benefactor named Lady Asquith, her natural beauty shines through.

Yet she looked unrecognisable in her role as Lady Asquith – a character who was often seen wearing a bonnet hat, with her hair pinned into curls underneath.

A blouse and cardigan were also her uniform of choice.

She departed following Hetty Feather’s second season, with her storyline seeing her move to New York.

Off-screen, Helen is a mum-of-two.

She is married to British actor Timothy Watson, who starred in BBC Radio 4 drama, The Archers, in 2016.

Timothy, who played Rob Titchener, recently compared his role and life with on-air wife, Helen, to his real-life one.

Addressing his cruel and manipulative character he said: “Believe me, I’m nothing like him.

“Honestly, I couldn’t be more different from Rob.

“Well, except that we both have wives called Helen.”

He added to MailOnline at the time: “How would my real life wife Helen react if I began behaving like Rob at home?

“She would spot it in an instant and would run a mile.

“If I started moaning there was nothing for dinner and nothing in the fridge, she would probably end up slapping me.

“That stuff would never work with my real wife Helen.”

Rex

Alamy

She is married to The Archers star Timothy Watson, who recently opened up on their relationship[/caption]

HUW Edwards dodging prison is “beyond unacceptable” and another example of “two-tier” justice, the Reform chairman has blasted.

Zia Yusuf railed against weak sentences where sickos like the BBC presenter “never serve a day in jail”.

He told Never Mind The Ballots: “It’s the opposite of right. It’s wrong. It’s unacceptable. “We’ve seen compounding evidence now for some time of a two-tier justice system. You used the word depraved, that is precisely the right word. 

“These are the most horrific images imaginable. And the fact that he will not serve a day in prison is, frankly, beyond unacceptable.”

Edwards walked free from Westminster Magistrates’ on Monday after receiving a six-month custodial sentence suspended for two years for making indecent images of children.

It sparked a leniency backlash from campaigners – with The Sun launching a Keep Our Kids Safe demand to jail ALL paedophiles caught with Category A child abuse images.

Mr Yusuf – a rising star in the right-wing insurgency party who is viewed as the heir to Nigel Farage – added his weight to the mounting anger.

He said: “There are so many people who essentially get away with serious, serious crimes that warrant meaningful jail time, who never serve a day in jail. 

And he added: “When we talk about two-tier, there are people who are going to jail for writing, albeit nasty and awful things on social media, and they’re going to jail. 

“So the fact that that’s happening while somebody’s doing these appalling things, committing these depraved crimes, is not going to jail again is symptomatic of two-tier justice.”

Mr Yusuf hit out at the “catastrophic failure” of the Tories for leaving Britain’s prisons in a sorry state where they are fit to burst – and for the “population explosion” for compounding the problem.

But he said “room can absolutely be made for Huw Edwards”. 

His intervention comes after Tory leadership hopeful Kemi Badenoch lamented Edwards avoiding prison time.

Despite widespread public outrage, the sentence cannot be upgraded for being “unduly lenient” as it came from a magistrate.

Dame Vera Baird, a former solicitor general and ex-victims’ commissioner, was among those calling for change.

She said: “It seems odd that there is a workable scheme for unduly lenient sentences in the crown court which the public can ask the Attorney General to consider.

“Yet there is nothing that could help a member of the public who was a victim of what could be a very serious assault or sexual abuse to make a formal application on a sentence in the magistrates’ court.”

NIGEL Farage will surrender his controlling stake of Reform and hand its members the power oust him – but not before a shot at No10 by 2030.

As the right-wing start-up party prepares for their conference tomorrow, Chairman Zia Yusuf has revealed the Brexit boss will give up his 40 per cent stake in the venture.

Reuters

Reform had been run as a company but will now be incorporated as a proper political party – with founder Mr Farage unable to anoint a chosen successor.

Speaking on our Never Mind the Ballots show, Yusuf said: “Nigel is going to sign away his majority shareholding in the party. The party will essentially be a proper, democratised political party governed by its constitution.”

And while he insisted “Nigel has universal support amongst our members” there would be a “mechanism” for them to boot him out if they choose.

“The whole point of having a membership is giving them a say, not only at a local level, where they’ll be able to select candidates, select a chair, select a treasurer, secretary, campaign manager, but also at a national level,” he added.

While he insisted his aim was to make Nigel Farage the PM by 2030, Yusuf added: “We have to have a legacy for Nigel ultimately.

“And, you know, building a political party… part of that is making sure that it has succession plans.

“The constitution that we’re presenting to members will have a process by which that can be taken care of.”

The multi-millionare businessman donor has been appointed by Farage to professionalise Reform, starting with setting up hundreds of branches and properly vetting candidates.

Asked about his own ambitions, Mr Yusuf said: “My plans are to build the most formidable campaign winning machine in this country and ensure Nigel Farage is elected Prime Minister.

“And I really believe that Nigel Farage could be elected by Prime Minister.”

He added: We now have achieved phase one. We’ve got five brilliant members of Parliament in the House of Commons. We won 4.1 million votes, and now we have a platform to reconstitute the centre right of politics in this country.”

He also hit out at the “negligible” vetting process ahead of July’s election that saw racist Reform candidates exposed during the campaign to huge embarrassment to the party.

“We had issues with some candidates,” he said. “It was a very small number, but they did exist and we don’t make excuses.”

“We won 4.1 million votes. We’re now polling at 18% nationally, as you know. So you’re talking about five, 5.5 million people across the country who support reform.

“The realities in such a large size of a population, as you know, you’re always going to have a tiny proportion of those people who don’t represent us.”

“So again, we don’t make excuses, we’ve got to have an outstanding vetting process, which we’re building in-house. And we think it’ll be the best.”

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