Corrie’s Dame Maureen Lipman lifts lid on soap future as she exits cobbles for theatre stint

As she takes a vacation from the ITV soap opera, Dame Maureen Lipman of Coronation Street has talked openly about her future on the cobbles.

In a live theatrical production of the one-woman show on the West End, which recounts a fearless Jewish woman’s escape from Nazi-ruled Europe, Coronation Street star Maureen, 76, is reprising the title role of Rose.

The soap star expressed her excitement for going back to the cobbles during a segment on Good Morning Britain.

She remarked, “This has just occurred at a moment where I’ve got a short holiday from Corrie – I’m coming back, because I enjoy Corrie, I like the people,” while seated in the ITV studio with hosts Rob Rinder and Charlotte Hawkins.

Even though I’ve lived in London for 54 years, she continued, “It’s amazing being up north again because you realise how much you’re kind of being posh when you’re in London.”

“You have a proper personal history with Hull and Manchester as well, as well as through your late husband, who wrote so many Corrie episodes as well,” Rob retorted.

While Coronation Street is filmed in Salford, Manchester, the dame was born in Hull.

She retorted, “He did, because Evelyn is a very Jack Rosenthal character,” in reference to her late husband Jack Rosenthal, who penned more than a hundred episodes of Corrie. She is an excellent battle axe. She hasn’t really been saved.

After introducing her character Evelyn Plummer for the first time in 2018, it was revealed earlier this summer that the actress had signed a contract to continue on the ITV show for an additional year.

When questioned about the soap opera at the time, she responded, “I wouldn’t hear a word against it. It’s full of extremely excellent actors working with very little rehearsal, very little guidance.”

Jack and Dame Maureen were wed in 1974 and remained so until his passing at the age of 72. They had two children together, Amy and Adam Rosenthal.

She took a hiatus from Corrie in 2021 when Guido Castro, with whom she had been in a relationship since 2008, passed away.

After getting the Covid-19 vaccination, she took a break from the soap opera during the epidemic.

Dame Maureen has appeared in six episodes of Lillian Spencer, a character who was hired by Fred Elliott (John Savident) to run The Rovers Return Inn, in addition to her recurring role as Evelyn on the ITV serial opera.

Then, 16 years later, Dame Maureen made a comeback as Evelyn, Tyrone Dobbs’ long-lost grandmother (Alan Halsall).