{"id":317050,"date":"2025-10-19T22:36:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-19T22:36:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/317050\/"},"modified":"2025-10-19T22:36:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T22:36:16","slug":"coronation-streets-catherine-tyldesley-breaks-silence-on-major-rovers-return-shake-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/317050\/","title":{"rendered":"Coronation Street’s Catherine Tyldesley breaks silence on major Rovers Return shake-up"},"content":{"rendered":"

Coronation Street spoilers<\/a> follow.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Coronation Street kicks off the Rovers Return’s exciting new era<\/a> later this month as Eva Price returns to the cobbles and takes over as the pub’s latest landlady. Eva reappears as her partner Ben Driscoll<\/a> drops the bombshell that he’s bought The Rovers for them, taking over from Jenny Connor following her recent departure<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Eva will be joined by her daughter Susie and Ben’s two sons \u2013 in a surprise twist, one of the lads is Dee-Dee Bailey’s secretive boyfriend Ollie, who’s already been introduced to viewers. Additionally, interfering mum-in-law Maggie, played by former Father Ted and EastEnders<\/a> star Pauline McLynn<\/a>, will also be causing chaos.<\/p>\n

What to Read Next<\/p>\n

We recently paid a visit to the Corrie set in Manchester for Catherine’s first interview about her return and the big Rovers shake-up\u2026<\/p>\n

Hi Catherine! After seven years, how has Eva changed during her time away?<\/strong><\/p>\n

“When I was asked to come back, I asked [Corrie producer] Kate Brooks what Eva had been though over the years \u2013 whether she’d had a good time or a bad time. It was really refreshing actually, because she told me: ‘Eva’s had a lovely time in general. She’s met this wonderful guy called Ben, they’re deeply in love, they’ve got this blended family and it’s been really nice’.<\/p>\n

“I assumed when I was asked to come back that Eva would have loads of baggage and trauma, but no, that’s not the case. There are obviously things that have happened in her past that we might see further down the line but in general, she’s been having a lovely time.”<\/p>\n

Let’s delve into the backstory <\/strong>\u2013<\/strong> how long have Eva and Ben been together?<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Kate had told me that Eva and Ben had been together for a while and they really loved each other. She explained that she wanted a powerhouse couple at the front of the pub, who genuinely just thought the world of each other. Again, I thought that was really refreshing, because I’d initially wondered: ‘Are they going to bring us in and then split us up?’<\/p>\n

“I adore Aaron [McCusker], who plays Ben \u2013 he’s a real stellar actor. I’ve watched most of what he’s done before and our paths have almost crossed several times, so I think we were destined to work together and he’s just been fantastic. <\/p>\n

“And then to bring Pauline McLynn in as Maggie as well. Her entrance at the end of the first episode is just a total mic drop. I feel incredibly lucky to be working alongside Aaron and Pauline, it’s lovely.”<\/p>\n

\"catherine<\/p>\n

ITV<\/p>\n

There’s a big rivalry between Eva and Maggie \u2013 how is it to explore that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

“I’ve watched a lot of what Pauline’s done in the past. When I’m watching what she’s doing on set, sometimes I’ll just watch the monitor and I know I am seeing a Corrie icon. From the minute she came on set, she was just brilliant.<\/p>\n

“The way the writers have structured things for our characters \u2013 it’s hilarious, it’s constant jibes. But there’s also a moment that we did not so long ago where Eva says: ‘If I wasn’t with Ben and I’d just met Maggie, I think we’d be mates’. There are a lot of similarities between them.<\/p>\n

“They both love the family, they’re both striving for the same thing, it’s just that now and again they come to blows. But that’s great fun to play.”<\/p>\n

Does Eva feel threatened by Maggie?<\/strong><\/p>\n

“It’s an interesting one. Early doors, I wouldn’t say that Eva is scared of Maggie, she’s more irritated by her. But as time goes on, Eva does start to see this side to Maggie that’s like: ‘Wow, okay, I’ve got your number’. I think that element develops where she goes: ‘Yeah, I am a little bit scared of her now and intimidated’.”<\/p>\n

What can we expect from Eva as a landlady?<\/strong><\/p>\n

“I think it’s easy to underestimate Eva as a dizzy blonde. She does have that side to her \u2013 she’s great fun and can be dizzy and spontaneous \u2013 but she is a very strong woman. As time goes on, we start to see even more reasons why she has got this inner strength.<\/p>\n

“Eva is also her mother’s daughter. Stella was a really strong woman and that is probably part of the reason why her and Maggie clash so much, they’re such strong personalities. But again, to bring that fun dynamic into The Rovers, especially with Sean and Glenda, has just been an absolute scream.”<\/p>\n

\"embargoed<\/p>\n

ITV<\/p>\n

The show is revisiting the rivalry between Eva and Maria, too, after their previous love triangle with Aidan\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Yes, I was so thrilled when Kate said we’d be playing that out. Eva is a dog with a bone \u2013 she will lock onto things in the same way that Maria does.<\/p>\n

“Eva really loved Aidan. Although she’s moved on and she loves Ben, she finds that very hard to let go of and she loves a grudge, so I think that’s going to be a long-term thing. Don’t let them near any water features, I think!”<\/p>\n

Eva runs into Adam Barlow at the pub’s Halloween party. Is there anything still between them? Should Ben be worried?<\/strong><\/p>\n

“No. The day that Eva left Weatherfield, Adam was slightly heartbroken but said: ‘I really care about you’. They’ve maintained that and they’ve stayed in touch. You can be friends with an ex \u2013 it’s rare, but it happens \u2013 and they’ve kept that.<\/p>\n

“Ben doesn’t have anything to worry about there. Although he might think he does \u2013 and Maggie might think that as well.”<\/p>\n

How did you feel when you got the call to return? We remember that when you left, you’d always said that you’d love to come back\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

“I really meant what I said when I left, because Eva is so much fun to play. It felt really serendipitous, I suppose. I was in Malta filming and my agent said: ‘Kate would like to speak to you about Corrie’. I assumed it was someone’s funeral! I thought: ‘Somebody’s dying and they want me to rock up’.<\/p>\n

“I remember my agent said: ‘I don’t really know what to expect, let’s just keep a poker face, let’s hear her out, let’s see what happens’. We were on a Zoom and Kate asked: ‘Would you like to be landlady?’ I went \u2018Aaagh!!’ My agent was like: ‘Nice one!’ (Laughs.)<\/p>\n

“I was just really shocked. It’s an absolute dream. I remember watching the show as a kid thinking: ‘God, I’d kill to be landlady one day. How cool would that be?'”<\/p>\n

\"catherine<\/p>\n

ITV<\/p>\n

Did it feel like the right time?<\/strong><\/p>\n

“For me in my personal life, I’d literally had a conversation with my husband Tom. I’d been away for nine months at that point. I feel really, truly blessed to have carried on working and done some great things, but I felt like the universe had combined things at the time.<\/p>\n

“I remember Tom saying to me: ‘God, I hope your next job’s in Manchester, Cath’. Then we got this call.<\/p>\n

“I’ve been asked before to come back to Corrie and I always made a point of emailing the producers because it genuinely didn’t work in the past due to other projects.<\/p>\n

“But this time, I was like: ‘Actually, this could work’. So it all came around at the right time. On a personal and professional level, it felt right and I’m so thrilled to be back. It’s just been gorgeous.”<\/p>\n

How did the rest of your family react?<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Well, I was sworn to secrecy! That was nice and awkward because rumours, as they always do, started to leak out. Jodie Prenger, who’s a very dear friend of mine and my writing partner, kept dropping hints by asking: ‘Would you ever go back to Corrie?’ She’d clearly heard rumours! <\/p>\n

“In my head, I was thinking: ‘I’m gonna be your boss in a few weeks’ time!’ (Laughs.)<\/p>\n

“So I also didn’t tell the rest of my family for a long time, but they were thrilled. Again, my family have really missed me on a personal level because so much of my work has been in a different city or abroad, so everyone was really happy.”<\/p>\n

Who <\/strong>was the first person in the cast that you told when the time came?<\/strong><\/p>\n

“There was a rumour really early doors and I kept saying: ‘Oh well, we might have a conversation’. I was so terrified of getting into trouble!<\/p>\n

“It probably was Jodie because it got to that point where I was seeing so much of Jodie outside of work that I was like: ‘I’m going to have to say something.’ She’s brilliant – I love Glenda.”<\/p>\n

\"samantha,<\/p>\n

ITV<\/p>\n

How did you approach revisiting the character of Eva after all this time?<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Eva is completely different to any character that I’ve played in the last seven years – purposely so. I love her because she keeps her inner child very near the surface. She’s great fun but she often doesn’t think about consequences \u2013 that’s always been a wonderful thing to play with Eva.<\/p>\n

“I did watch a couple of old episodes, including the episode with Eva and Maria in the water fountain, just to remind myself. She’s a big ball of energy in many ways. She’s got a temper on her, she’s a really strong woman.<\/p>\n

“I love the fact that she does still have that inner child. That can be really dangerous sometimes, especially with her spontaneous side. So it was really great to find that again.<\/p>\n

“Obviously Eva’s a little bit older and wiser \u2013 a tiny bit. But it’s also been lovely to see her be a mum now \u2013 not just to Susie but to the rest of the family, to Ben’s boys.”<\/p>\n

Growing up watching Corrie, who were your favourite women behind the bar of The Rovers?<\/strong>
<\/p>\n

“There’s been so many and I think that’s what Corrie does well \u2013 these strong women that come and go. You look at somebody like Bet Lynch \u2013 straight away, even people that didn’t watch Corrie know who she is.<\/p>\n

“I don’t think I can compare Eva as such. I think that would be unfair to do so and I do think she’s different to the others. But it’s bloody big boots to fill.”<\/p>\n

\"leanne<\/p>\n

ITV<\/p>\n

How excited were you about working with Jane Danson and Georgia Taylor again and exploring the dynamic between Eva, Leanne and Toyah?<\/strong><\/p>\n

“So chuffed! They were onto me straight away now that you mention it \u2013 on our sister chat, which we kept going. I’ve pretty much stayed in touch with everybody, so it’s extra lovely to come back to.<\/p>\n

“That dynamic is great. It’s strong women and when they’re together, they’re even stronger. They’re a real force to be reckoned with, they’ve got each other’s backs, it’s that solidarity. It’s such a joy to play as an actress \u2013 the three concubines of Nick Tilsley \u2013 and the girls are just a dream and we’ve stayed in touch.<\/p>\n

“I felt really welcomed by everyone, especially my sisters, so it’s great that we’ve got lots of stuff coming up together.”<\/p>\n

Have you had any fan reaction so far?<\/strong><\/p>\n

“It’s been really lovely and people have been really supportive. Lots of people are remembering the fountain scene! It’s been really nice. I’ve had so many lovely messages and comments and that’s been really reassuring. Just to feel welcomed back has been lovely.”<\/p>\n

Coronation Street<\/strong> airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and streams on <\/strong>ITVX<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Read more <\/strong>Coronation Street<\/strong> spoilers on our dedicated homepage<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

The new edition of <\/strong>Living Legends<\/strong> is here! <\/strong>Buy <\/strong>Ariana & Witches<\/strong> in newsagents or online<\/strong><\/a>, priced at just \u00a38.99.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Coronation Street spoilers follow. Coronation Street kicks off the Rovers Return’s exciting new era later this month as…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":317051,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[3178,159202,1201,171,1200,159201,173,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-317050","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-content-type-news","9":"tag-contentid-cb727540-d43c-465d-8765-9c054ac62c00","10":"tag-displaytype-standard-article","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-locale-gb","13":"tag-shorttitle-corrie-star-breaks-silence-on-major-rovers-shake-up","14":"tag-tv","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-unitedstates","17":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115403226526216890","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=317050"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317050\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/317051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=317050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=317050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}