Editing Julie Walters (section)

===1980–1989: ''Educating Rita'' and ''Buster''===
{{quote box|width=30%|bgcolor=#FFFFF0|align=right|quote="The basic premise – that education means choice – still matters today, the world over. And not just for women, but for all of us."|source=—Walters on ''[[Educating Rita (film)|Educating Rita]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Julie Walters and Willy Russell: how we made Educating Rita |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/feb/17/julie-walters-willy-russell-how-we-made-educating-rita |access-date=30 October 2020 |newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref>}}
[[File:Julie Walters.jpg|thumb|Performing in [[The Green Tie on the Little Yellow Dog|''The Green Tie on the Little Yellow Dog'']]]]
Walters' first serious acting role on television was in Alan Bleasdale's ''[[Boys from the Blackstuff]]'' in 1982. She came to national attention when she co-starred with [[Michael Caine]] in ''[[Educating Rita (film)|Educating Rita]]'' (1983), a role she had created on the [[West End stage]] in [[Willy Russell]]'s [[Educating Rita|1980 play]].<ref name="20 Roles">{{cite news |title=Julie Walters' best film performances – ranked! |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jun/25/julie-walters-best-film-performances-ranked |access-date=30 October 2020 |newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref> Playing Susan "Rita" White, a Liverpudlian working-class hairdresser who seeks to better herself by signing up for and attending an Open University course in English literature, she would receive the [[BAFTA Award for Best Actress]], the [[Golden Globe Award]] for [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical|Best Actress&nbsp;– Motion Picture Musical/Comedy]], and a nomination for the [[Academy Award for Best Actress]].<ref name="20 Roles"/>

She performed various comic monologues in ''[[The Green Tie on the Little Yellow Dog]]'', which was recorded 1982, and broadcast by [[Channel 4]] in 1983.<ref>[https://www.bright-thoughts.co.uk/monologues-02.html] The Green Tie on the Little Yellow Dog production website</ref> In 1985, she played [[Adrian Mole]]'s mother, Pauline, in the television adaptation of ''[[The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole (TV series)|The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole]]''. Walters appeared in the lead role of [[Cynthia Payne]] in the 1987 film ''[[Personal Services]]''&nbsp;– a dramatic comedy about a British brothel owner. Then she starred with [[Phil Collins]], playing the lead character's wife, June, in the film ''[[Buster (film)|Buster]]'', released in 1988.<ref name="20 Roles"/> She also appeared as Mrs. Peachum in the 1989 film version of ''[[The Threepenny Opera]]'', which was renamed ''[[Mack the Knife (1989 film)|Mack the Knife]]'' for the screen.