Maureen Lipman has revealed her late husband convinced her to return to Coronation Street again.
The actress’ husband, Jack Rosenthal, died in 2004 of cancer and was one of the early writers on the ITV soap, penning 129 episodes.
And now she has revealed how when she was wavering about rejoining the soap, she was sent a sign by him.
She told the Daily Mirror: “I’ve got a picture of my late husband, a triptych, and there are lights above it.
“And I was saying: ‘I don’t think I can do it’, and then the light came on – above his picture. So I thought, ‘Okay’.
Read more: Maureen Lipman returns to Coronation Street but as a different character
“And I am now a character in the Street – and a pretty nasty one at that. I’m playing a monster.”
The acclaimed actress, 72, will play Tyrone Dobbs’ grandmother, Evelyn Plummer, when she arrives on the cobbles in September.
The Blanche Hunt style battleaxe comes into his life after Tyrone (Alan Halsall) decides to research his family history following the recent death of his mother Jackie.
The soap’s producer, Iain MacLeod, said: “I am beyond thrilled that we are introducing such a great new character, played by someone of Maureen’s pedigree.
“Evelyn is eye-wateringly withering and will add a fresh dollop of northern humour to the show as she turns Tyrone and Fiz’s lives upside down.”
The soap said in a statement: “Outspoken battleaxe Evelyn will soon be ruling the roost at number 9, much to Fiz’s dismay, and it isn’t long before she starts to ruffle a few feathers on the Street.”
Tyrone received the tragic news that his mum, Jackie, had died earlier this month.
Police arrived at No. 9 and broke the news; she was last seen in Weatherfield in 2010, when Tyrone sent her packing over being mean to his then-wife Molly.
Hull-born national treasure Maureen made a brief appearance in Corrie in 2002 as snooty landlady Lillian Spencer.
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Her acting credits include films The Pianist, Educating Rita and Oklahoma!
She has appeared in TV series such as All At Number 20, The Fugitives and Plebs.
The actress also made her mark as Beatie in the 1980s BT adverts and has also notched up numerous theatre credits.
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