Maureen Lipman felt like she was "coming home" when she joined 'Coronation Street'.
Maureen Lipman
The 73-year-old actress - who plays Tyrone Dobbs' (Alan Halsall) battleaxe grandmother Evelyn Plummer on the ITV soap - is having a great time being back in the public eye and feels very comfortable on set as she spent so much time there several decades ago thanks to her late husband, Jack Rosenthal.
She said: "It's nice to be back on TV and int he public eye.
"I enjoy filming. I like company and I like working with a cast of all ages.
"And the 'Street' is a bit like coming home. My late husband wrote over 100 episodes in the 60s and 70s.
"He had to prise Pat Phoenix out of her dressing room when she was too nervous to film Elsie Tanner's second wedding.
"All of that is part of my own heritage."
Maureen - who also appeared in 'Corrie' as landlady Lilian Spencer in 2002 - may not have watched the soap for years, but she still jumped at the chance to be a part of it.
She added in an interview with Inside Soap magazine: "When they asked if I was interested in playing Evelyn I said, 'Of course I am.'
"I hadn't watched 'Corrie' since the old king died but it's always been quite matriarchal - you need difficult women at the heart of it."
The showbiz veteran thinks it's hilarious that she's been nominated for Best Newcomer, as well as Funniest Female, at the upcoming Inside Soap awards.
She said: "I think it's hugely amusing.
"After 51 years in acting, I'm still a newcomer.
"But then, every job you do, you're a newcomer in a sense.
"I'm very flattered - although as I'm not on social media, I don't expect to win. Though if I did win, I'd make a bloody funny speech."
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