Julie Hesmondhalgh: 'Cucumber' will cause a lot of controversy'

Julie Hesmondhalgh has said that she thinks upcoming gay drama series Cucumber will "cause a lot of controversy". The former Coronation Street stars in the new Channel 4 series from Queer as Folk producer Russell T Davies, which will run in conjunction with E4 series Banana and factual online web series Tofu and is due to air early next year. Appearing on This Morning earlier (November 19), the 44-year-old urged viewers who wouldn't be happy with the series' racy content to turn of their TVs, saying: "It's full on, and [some] people won't like it... and if you don't like it, please just turn off! It won't be to everyone's taste - it's a Channel 4 series about sex. "But it's exciting and wonderful and Russell is just the best writer in the world. But it is an amazing programme and I think it'll cause a lot of controversy!" Her comments come after a Channel 4 executive said earlier this year that the show would "lightly outrage" the Daily Mail - click here to read more. Hesmondhalgh added that though the show follow the lives of several gay men in Manchester, the show would be a "departure" from the Queer as Folk series. "Comparisons are going to be made to Queer as Folk, but Russell [T Davies] is really keen for it to be a departure from that really, and I think of it as more of tales of the city of Manchester," the  44-year-old said. "It's about sex and love an relationships and mid-life crisis... and salad vegetables!" Other actors appearing in Cucumber and Banana include The Riot Club's Freddie Fox, In the Flesh star Luke Newberry, comedian Rufas Hound and attitude.co.uk contributor Andrew Hayden-Smith. Meanwhile, earlier this week Andrew Hayden-Smith shared a picture of one of his more revealing Cucumber costumes – take a look here. More Stories: > Read Paul Bettany’s amazing response to homophobic troll > What happens when gay men read ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’?