There has been "a loss of regional identity" in the stories on stages around the UK due to the challenging circumstances facing theatres, according to Julie Hesmondhalgh.

The actor, who last week was the fourth contestant to leave The Celebrity Traitors, observed that for financial reasons regional theatres are increasingly making co-productions with other venues. This can lead to a "generic" product, she said, rather than a show that specifically says something about the local area.

Hesmondhalgh highlighted the phenomenal impact of James Graham's Punch, a drama about restorative justice, which opened at Nottingham Playhouse in 2024 and was based on the true story of a one-punch death in the city. The play, which brought Hesmondhalgh an Olivier award for her performance as the victim's mother, went from Nottingham to the West End, a UK tour and Broadway. "New work is always so hard to sell but because it was such a local story, and by James Graham, it sold," she said.

Asked if programming had become risk-averse since Covid, Hesmondhalgh said: "It's really hard for regional theatres. There's room in my heart for musicals and Noël Coward. There's a familiarity about the old classics that people love. But the world of co-pros is making things very difficult for people. In order to survive as a regional theatre now, you have to necessarily make so many co-productions with other regional theatres. There's a definite loss of regional identity, locally made productions."

Hesmondhalgh, who led a successful campaign to save Oldham Coliseum from closure, was earlier this year appointed as a guest curator for its reopening programme. The building is undergoing major refurbishment and redevelopment by the council. It will stage shows that have "a distinctive Oldham mark, a Coliseum mark" as well as work that will visit other venues. The actor stressed "the amount of fundraising we're having to do to make some regionally specific work because we know we won't be able to co-pro it". The experience, she said, has given her "a new empathy for people trying to run regional theatres – it's not easy".

When audiences watch shows with a genuine local resonance – productions "that are of and for them" – there is a visceral response, Hesmondhalgh added. She described witnessing such a response when she watched Beth Steel's Till the Stars Come Down, the tale of a Mansfield community, when it ran at Nottingham Playhouse last month. "It's a real experience being an actor in a play in Oldham and Nottingham. Every time there's the mention of a place [the audience] recognise, there's a ripple of approval – it's wonderful."

Next month Hesmondhalgh, 56, will receive the lifetime achievement prize at the inaugural Great British Theatres awards to mark the 50th anniversary of Theatres Trust, the national advice and advocacy body for UK theatres. Its CEO, Joshua McTaggart, said the award "is to recognise someone who shares Theatres Trust's belief that everyone should have access to theatre and live performance no matter where they live or what their background is. There is no one in the public eye who embodies this spirit more than Julie Hesmondhalgh. Julie has used her platform as one of the country's most beloved actors to bang the drum for inclusive and equitable access to the performing arts and champion important community theatres."

Hesmondhalgh, who is from Accrington in Lancashire, had a recent TV hit with Mr Bates vs the Post Office and will soon star on stage in the Young Vic's documentary theatre production The Pelicot Trial at County Hall in London. She joked that the award may be a tad premature – "I still think I'm 19!" – and said that she had been fortunate to appear in "a disproportionate number of plays and TV shows that have had something to say about the world, and that I've been so proud to be a part of".

She expressed faith, too, in Andy Burnham's understanding of the arts. "He's been to the theatre and seen me in stuff in Manchester and engaged with that. On a real level he knows that communities coming together – for a gig or a football match or a play – matters. I think he's got a handle on that. I do have quite a lot of faith in him to deliver on that. For communities that are struggling, having a cultural policy and investment in culture is always a tool for regeneration."