A CORONATION Street legend will be back on the cobbles in just days after months away from the Street.
The show will be preparing to say hello to the character once again after the actress decided to leave the show full-time and secure a new part-time contact with the ITV soap.
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Maureen Lipman plays Evelyn Plummer on the programme but decided to walk away from being a full-time cast member last year.
Instead, she became one of the first stars to ink one of the new shorter-term part-time contacts being handed out to stars in order to retain them on the show for just a few weeks a year whilst allowing them to pursue other ventures elsewhere when not filming.
These are being handed out more frequently to cast members who wish to take time away from the show as well as to those with less storylines as part of a cost-saving measure at ITV.
Now, having been off-screen for months studying at university, Evelyn will be back for a short stint to catch up with all the mayhem on the cobbles.
She will make a comeback to catch-up with her old pal Roy Cropper in an unexpected arrival.
Whilst Roy is delighted to see her, he soon feels awkward when she invites herself to his planned dinner with Carla Connor and Lisa Swain.
However, Evelyn’s presence at the dinner is the least of their concerns when a mystery woman shows up.
A lady called Tia Wardley interrupts the meal with Corrie fans knowing that Lisa and Carla have been searching for a woman with the same name.
It soon transpires that Tia herself is also already very aware they have been trying to track her down?
But what happens next and is it purely a coincidence that Evelyn happens to be there?
Maureen first began playing Evelyn full-time in September 2018 until December of last year.
She briefly returned in March of this year ahead of her next stint in the upcoming week.
Maureen told The Sun she wanted to “enjoy life” and focus on her engagement as the main reason behind her full-time Corrie departure.
She became engaged having proposed to business consultant boyfriend David Turner, 78, last year.
Maureen told us: “I’ll be absent for a while, and then coming back.
“I’m not going to die but then I’ll be in and out of it because I want to have a bit of a life.
“David and I are thinking of having a bit of a gap year.”
And she’s got her eye on new roles, adding: “I’m waiting to see what’s out there once I’m out there.
“There’s got to be something that Lesley Manville and Brenda Blethyn and Harriet Walters don’t play that I could do.”
Corrie cash crisis: shock exits for 2025
ITV bosses are locked in a battle to save the cash-strapped soap.
This means that a number of stars have either been axed from or have abandoned the long-running serial drama.
Colson Smith – Craig Tinker
The character of Craig Tinker has been axed by bosses after 14 years. After he was told of the news in Autumn 2024, Colson Smith confirmed that would be written out of the show with scenes to air later this year. Craig’s on-screen mum, Beth Tinker, also left the show in the summer when actress Lisa George was written out from the role.
Sue Cleaver – Eileen Grimshaw
After 25 years playing Eileen Grimshaw, former I’m A Celebrity campmate Sue Cleaver will quit the show. The Sun on Sunday reported in January that she’s already begun to film her exit scenes. However the character will not be killed off in case Sue opts to make a return in the future.
Luca Toolan – Mason Radcliffe
Bosses decided to axe the teenage character after just 16 months after he first joined the show. Recent scenes saw Mason stabbed by his criminal brothers after his pal Dylan brought a knife in an attempt to defend him.
Sue Devaney – Debbie Webster
In November 2024, we revealed that Debbie Webster is set to be killed off after 40 years on the cobbles. The character will die as part of a heartbreaking long-running dementia storyline.
Charlotte Jordan – Daisy Midgeley
The actress became the fifth star to leave Coronation Street in just one month. We revealed that she will bow out of the ITV soap later this year after four years on-screen. Charlotte told sources that she’s hungry to see what other opportunities await.
Shelley King – Yasmeen Metcalfe
The actress has played Yasmeen Metcalfe on the cobbles for the past 11 years and we revealed in January that she finished filming her final scenes. This follows the departure of her on-screen partner Stu Carpenter.
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