Hayley Cropper (also Harold Patterson and Hayley Patterson) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, Coronation Street, played by Julie Hesmondhalgh. The character first appeared in the episode first broadcast on 26 January 1998. Hayley was the first transgender character in a British soap opera and was the first permanent transgender character in the world of serialised drama. She was married to Roy Cropper (David Neilson). Hesmondhalgh won numerous awards for her portrayal of Hayley, but announced her departure from the show on 11 January 2013. Her final scenes were filmed on 18 November 2013 and aired on 22 January 2014. In the episode, Hayley takes her own life, after living with terminal pancreatic cancer. Hesmondhalgh has insisted that it was a "right to die" storyline not 'an assisted suicide' storyline. Hayley's funeral aired on 31 January 2014. Hesmondhalgh's portrayal of Hayley, and her on-screen chemistry with fellow actor David Neilson, encouraged the writers to allow the character to evolve from a brief love interest for Roy to a popular long-term character. Hayley would go on to spend 16 years on Coronation Street, always seeing the good in people and nurturing Fiz Brown (Jennie McAlpine) and Becky McDonald (Katherine Kelly) from troubled young women to kind, caring, individuals. In her later years, Hayley formed an unlikely, yet notably close, friendship with Carla Connor (Alison King) and although it was obvious the pair were from completely different walks of life, they came to respect and care for each other.