Amanda Barrie Reveals: "My Love Life Could Have Gotten Me Booted from Corrie—One Scene Was Absolutely Terrifying!"

WHO wins in the marriage stakes – the husband or the wife?

Having walked down the aisle with both, actress is the ultimate authority on who makes the better spouse.

Corrie legend Amanda Barrie, 90, has walked down the aisle with both a man and a woman Credit: Alamy Amanda with her late husband Robin Hunter in 1967 Credit: Getty Images

At 90 years old, the Carry On icon , finding happiness first with her late husband Robin Hunter, and later with her wife Hilary Bonner.

But if you think to a man is all about DIY while a wife handles the housework, Amanda is ready to rewrite the rulebook.

“There’s no ‘better’ about it,” she says. “I think it’s absolutely about the individual and the emotional connection.

“I hate stereotyping and putting people in pigeonholes – such as ‘men do this, women do that’. My husband Robin was absolutely useless at DIY and fixing stuff, whereas my wife Hilary is brilliant.

“Robin couldn’t change a plug, Hil can fix a .

“It depends on the individual. You can’t say, ‘Because he’s a man, he’ll take the rubbish out’ or ‘Because she’s a woman, she’ll get out her needle and thread’.

“It’s no longer applicable. I think it’s a complete mix of qualities in individual people.”

For Amanda, the secret to a successful has far less to do with gender than the bond between two people.

She famously came out as bisexual in her first autobiography aged 67 – after decades of keeping her private life under wraps to protect her career – but today she refuses to let labels define her love life.

She says: “Sexuality is always talked about, but I think we should change that to emotionality.

“Emotions are more relevant than actual . Again, it’s about the individual. Hil is incredibly supportive. She’s right for me now. Robin felt right when we married, although the marriage didn’t last.

“When you love someone, you’re supportive of them and vice versa – regardless of what sex you both happen to be.

“I don’t like labels. They’re fine on luggage and packets of pasta but not, in my opinion, on people.

“On a more trivial note, it’s better being married to a woman because you can borrow their mascara!”

Amanda first met Hilary briefly in the early 1990s, but it was around a decade later that she began a relationship with the former showbiz journalist-turned-crime writer.

Amanda was and, as it turned out, her last. The couple married in 2014 after more than a decade together.

The actress poses her wife Hilary Bonner in 2019 Credit: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock Amanda reveals William Roache, who plays Ken Barlow in Corrie, was her best on-screen snog Credit: Granada Television

“We have an extraordinary relationship,” Amanda says. “I’m older than she is – I’m 90 while she’s 77 – but I couldn’t cope without her, so she better not snuff it.”

Amanda was very much a household name when she publicly came out as bisexual in her 60s, having dated actress before meeting Hilary.

But it’s remarkable to consider that, in 2026, Amanda once felt she had to keep her while playing in in fear of losing her job if the truth emerged.

“Not thought, I KNOW I would have been [fired], taking into account the climate at the time,” she says.

“Things are so different now. Corrie’s like Canal Street in these days. The people I was close to always knew about me and the relationships throughout my life.

“Being at the age I am, I still remember when gay men were absolutely crucified for being the way they were.

“To be honest, I think most people at some stage in their life have had a ‘crush’ on a person of the same sex.

“I think it’s more common than it would seem. Society has changed which has made it so much easier for people like to be truthful about who they are.

Amanda once felt she had to keep her sexuality hidden while playing Alma Baldwin in Corrie in fear of losing her job if the truth emerged, above with Helen Worth on the soap Credit: Alamy Stock Photo Amanda as the Carry On icon in 1964 Credit: Rex Features

“I believe in the freedom to do and be exactly as you wish in life. To live in your own way. I dream of a day when people’s sexuality is regarded as so unimportant that no one even bothers to remark on whether somebody is gay or straight.

“It’s probably a pipedream, but I still like to dream it.”

With a career spanning seven decades, Amanda has enjoyed more than her fair share of on screen snogs over the years – “too many to remember, darling!” – but there’s no hesitation when she’s asked to name the best kisser.

“ by far,” she says, referring to her fellow Corrie icon, now 94. “It was when kissed Alma in Corrie during their brief relationship in the early 90s.

“Bill was definitely up there. He gets a very high rating. I’m not going to go into minute detail, but I remember he felt it, too.

“When we broke apart, we just looked at each other and smiled. A very handsome man, Bill Roache.

“The worst has to be a chimpanzee! I’m serious. It was when I was in the 1965 ‘I’ve Gotta Horse’ with Billy Fury.

“It was so scary as the chimp was vicious and dangerous. He grabbed me round the neck, wouldn’t let go and had to be prised off. Nothing like that would be allowed today.”

While Amanda is delighted by how much society has changed, there are aspects of modern life she finds less appealing – wokery being one.

“Some things have gone too far,” she says. “I’d probably be cancelled three or four times a day if people could hear me at home.

“I heard something the other day – something like a guy not being allowed to say to a woman, ‘You look nice or I like your dress’ – that was just ridiculous.

“Or comments that are meant as an affectionate joke, but they’re manipulated into something else entirely.

“I’ve heard that taxi drivers aren’t allowed to call you darling anymore. But I call them darling all the time, and that’s OK? It’s been taken too far in that way. Everyone is so literal in their understanding of stuff today.

“We Brits have always been known for our great sense of humour, but it’s like you can’t have a bit of a joke about anything anymore in case it might be interpreted as being offensive.

“But we must keep our sense of humour – that’s essential.”

On a more serious note, Amanda worries some behaviours are now judged too broadly.

She explains: “As a 16-year-old dancer in Soho, there I’d be dressed in fishnets, high heels and very little else – and you’d get a quick pat on the bottom. You didn’t think much of it.

“These days, whoever did the patting would be up for sexual harassment.

“I would never have interpreted it as such, though. You can’t liken a pat on the bum with actual real sexual harassment or assault – like rape.

“By doing so, you’re down-playing or underestimating the severity of a real attack. They’re not comparable. Heck, we’ll be skewed for shaking hands next.”

Although there has inevitably been heartbreak and loss throughout Amanda’s long life, much of which is detailed in the paperback release of her book, I’m Still Here: My 90 Years, overall it sounds as though it has been one hell of a ride.

Perhaps that’s why she has some sympathy for younger generations navigating a very different world.

She says: “There’s this thing where we all think things were better when we were young. Well, we would do. It’s nostalgia.

“But so much doesn’t seem to be allowed, these days. There certainly aren’t the , clubs and nightlife in that were around when I was young – what there is, is just so expensive.

“Young people seem worried and serious, but maybe that’s smart phones and , for you. But I get why they are addicted to their phones, I’m afraid to say I am, too.”

One modern trend Amanda won’t be following is the quest for a wrinkle-free appearance and is candid about the realities of reaching 90.

“Somedays I look in the mirror and say to Hil, ‘OMG, I look like a 90 year old’ and she says, ‘You are a 90 year old,’” she explains.

“I try not to overindulge and I like to swim, but sometimes I eat and drink probably more than I should and don’t exercise as much as I should. Bits of me are wearing out, but I hope I’m like an old car – when something wears out, put a new one in and keep going.

“Mortality has always been sitting on my shoulder. Of course, I think about it now because I’m older than Hilary, but you have to be a bit lucky. It’s going to happen to all of us so at least I’m not on my own.”

• ‘I’m Still Here: My 90 Years’ by Amanda Barrie with Hilary Bonner, RRP £10.99, is published in paperback on June 18th