Dame Maureen Lipman has launched a staunch defence of Coronation Street, praising the "quite exceptional actors" that work alongside her.
The 76-year-old joined the world's longest-running soap in 2018 as Evelyn Plummer, the no-nonsense grandmother of Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall), and quickly became a fan favourite.
The role came 14 years after the death of her husband Jack Rosenthal, a Corrie legend who wrote 129 episodes in the 1960s.
"I won't hear a word against it," Lipman told Reader's Digest. "It's full of quite exceptional actors working with very little rehearsal, very little direction.
"Am I envious of some of my peers? Sometimes, yes. Do I have the right to be? Of course not.
"Would I like to be in Sex Education? Yes, of course.
"Am I sorry I've signed up with Corrie for another year? No, I'm not."
Lipman was awarded her Damehood in 2020 in recognition of her services to charity, entertainment and the arts.
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