Corrie star tells of childhood starved of love by family

CORONATION Street veteran Betty Driver has told of the loveless childhood which led to her becoming exploited as a "meal ticket" for the rest of her family.

The 90-year-old actress, below, known as cheery Betty Williams for more than four decades, said her early years were spent without presents, kisses or parental affection.

In an emotional interview for Radio 4's Desert Island Discs - to be broadcast today - she explains that the bullying by her mother led to a nervous breakdown in her mid-20s.

A confession on a lighter note will surprise many of her fans. As Rovers Return favourite Betty, she has been known for her speciality dish during countless episodes of the Weatherfield soap. But asked whether she is able to rustle up the signature hotpot, she admits: "No, I'm dreadful - I'm a terrible cook. I'm rubbish in the kitchen."

Driver found a new lease of fame when she joined Corrie in the late 1960s, at a time when she was thinking of winding down her performing career. But she had been pushed on to the stage as a child by her overbearing mother.

She told presenter Kirsty Young she and sister Freda had a "sad little life".