Hadfield's background lay in Gilbert and Sullivan, serving as a member of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company from 1963 to 1970, and again in 1971. As understudy to the principal mezzo-soprano and later a regular performer in her own right, she played such roles as Edith (and later Isabel) in The Pirates of Penzance, Lady Angela in Patience, and Tessa (and later Vittoria) in The Gondoliers. Her screen credits include chorus roles in the 1965 TV version of Patience and the 1967 film of The Mikado. In 2000, she was one of many D'Oyly Carte alumni featured in the video Together Again: A Tribute to Kenneth Sandford, John Reed, and Thomas Round. Outside of Gilbert & Sullivan, she made an appearance on the popular soap opera Coronation Street..