Louise Duprey

 

 


Real name: Louise Duprey
Born: 1957, Liverpool
Married:
Children: Marcelle (b: 1983)
Died: February 2000

 

Played: Amy Nelson (22 March - 1 October 1993)

Louise started her career in theatre. Always looking younger than her true age, her big TV break came when she appeared in Russ Abbot's drama September Song. The director also worked on Coronation Street and before she knew it Louise was set for soap stardom. She was cast as Andy McDonald's girlfriend, Amy Nelson in what was to be a ground-breaking mixed race marriage.

But after eight months, the pressure of stardom became too much for her. Just as she was about to record the historic marriage scenes Louise broke down. She locked herself in the dressing room toilets and wouldn't come out. Granada doctors saw she was suffering from nervous exhaustion and immediately sent her home. Within days they had seen her again - and it was clear she was never going to come back. Scriptwriters were hurriedly called to an emergency conference - and as quick as Louise's character Amy Nelson had been rocketed to national fame, she was written out. Street bosses brought in an unknown double for the final scene - one Melanie Brown, now Mel B of Spice Girl fame. Instead of seeing Amy tie the knot, TV viewers saw her leave Andy to go back to her native Trinidad with son Dominic to be with former lover Errol.

Soon after quitting, Louise moved back from London to her native Liverpool. She lived in a converted 1930s detached house in Mossley Hill near Liverpool University. She became more and more solitary and in the end became a virtual recluse. It is believed she may have taken a drugs overdose, and her body lay in the flat for several days before police were alerted after spotting piles of mail behind her front door.

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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