Dame Maureen Lipman had to say goodbye to her late partner while wearing "gloves and a pinafore" amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Dame Maureen Lipman
The 'Coronation Street' actress' significant other Guido Castro died in January aged 84, and the star wasn't able to hold the hand of her love of 13 years as he slipped away.
She said: "It is unbelievable to have to say goodbye to somebody with gloves and a pinafore on. It doesn’t bear thinking about.
"He survived COVID in a care home. But he didn’t really survive. It knocked the stuffing out of him."
Maureen was made a dame in the Queen's birthday honours list last year, and she came face-to-face with the monarch last week as the 95-year-old royal visited the 'Coronation Street' studios.
The actress admitted the queen's visit was "a moving moment" for the cast, and she was impressed that she has "no snobbery".
Maureen said: "She was absolutely dazzling, and interested in all, from the sound man to the person who worked in the canteen - she has no snobbery.
"Even the hardest republican young actor fell in love with her. She was so interested and beautiful. She’s got fewer lines than I have. I’d like to know what cream she’s been using."
And Maureen joked she hoped the queen was going to present her with her damehood on the cobbles, as she hasn't been given the physical honour.
She added to the Daily Mirror newspaper: "I was hoping she as going to give it to me on the cobbles or in the Rovers Return."
Maureen was made a dame for her services to charity, entertainment and the arts, and she previously admitted she was "honoured" by the recognition.
She said: "I am proud to be honoured by the Queen and country that I love, for doing the work that I love. My grandfather was given the freedom to live and work in the historic and welcoming city of Hull after fleeing persecution in Russia.
"Two generations later that same city gave me, his granddaughter, a full grant to live and study drama at Lamda in London, which led to a rich and rewarding career, giving and receiving pleasure in my craft and now to this unexpected damehood, whilst happily still treading the cobbles of Corrie.
"It is a wonderful reflection on what, one trusts, is the continuing generosity of this country to the immigrant.
"So, gratefully, Happy Birthday your Majesty and thank you."