{"id":54366,"date":"2024-07-04T14:39:41","date_gmt":"2024-07-04T12:39:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=2067212"},"modified":"2024-07-04T18:04:55","modified_gmt":"2024-07-04T16:04:55","slug":"coronation-street-star-maureen-lipman-confirmed-to-take-new-break-from-soap","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/coronation-street-star-maureen-lipman-confirmed-to-take-new-break-from-soap\/","title":{"rendered":"Coronation Street star Maureen Lipman confirmed to take new break from soap"},"content":{"rendered":"

The actress will be swapping the cobbles for the stage. <\/p>

By Molly Moss\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 04 July 2024 at 12:39 PM<\/p>

\n\n

Coronation Street star Dame Maureen Lipman is set to take a short break from the cobbles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The actress, who has played the part of Tyrone Dobbs\u2019s (Alan Halsall) grandmother Evelyn Plummer in the ITV soap since 2018, will depart from the show towards the end of the year to take on a new role.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was revealed yesterday (Wednesday 3rd July) that the actress will be swapping the cobbles for the stage and starring <\/span>in Richmond Theatre\u2019s annual pantomime later this year, w<\/span>ith the news sparking concerns that she would be leaving Corrie for good.<\/span><\/p>\n

But now it has been revealed that Dame Maureen will reprise her role in the ITV soap following some time away.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDame Maureen is taking a sabbatical from <\/span>Coronation Street <\/span>towards the end of the year,\u201d a show spokesperson told Digital Spy<\/a>. \u201cWe look forward to seeing her back on the cobbles in 2025.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The production will take place between December 7th and January 5th, so it\u2019s likely the actress will be absent from Corrie for a number of months.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\u201dFROM\"\n<\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>” credits=”false”]
Dame Maureen Lipman as Evelyn Plummer in Coronation Street.<\/span><\/figcaption> ITV<\/i><\/span><\/div>Announcing the news yesterday, Richmond Theatre shared on Instagram: \u201cWe are so excited to announce that Dame Maureen Lipman will star as Mrs Potty and Pete Firman will play Silly Billy in this year\u2019s spellbinding pantomime Beauty and the Beast!\u201d<\/span>\n

It won\u2019t be the first break that Dame Maureen has taken from the show, with the actress departing temporarily last year<\/a> to appear in her one-woman West End play Rose.<\/span><\/p>\n

Earlier this year, Dame Maureen spoke about the soap\u2019s increasingly dark storylines, reminiscing about the show\u2019s formative years.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve come to a point in Corrie now where people are getting murdered in knicker factories,\u201d she told the Beyond the Title podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re having domestic abuse. Anything that ticks the box of social problems in the 21st century is going to be in your local soap.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

She continued: \u201cWhereas back then you had the freedom to put Martha [Longhurst], Minnie [Caldwell] and Ena [Sharples] in the snug and have a conversation about Ben-Hur.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s never been political but I always like it when the women sit down and go, \u2018Ooh, Donald Trump, ain\u2019t his hair shocking.\u2019 <\/span>People talk like that, and we recognise it as true.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n