Tyrone meets his granny, Evelyn
TYRONE TRACKS DOWN HIS GRANDMA, EVELYN – BUT SHE’S NO SWEET OLD LADY...
Determined Tyrone tries to get some answers about his complicated past this week – as he tracks down his grandmother, Evelyn.
Tyrone is still reeling in shock following the revelations that came out after the recent death of his mother, Jackie. Since meeting with his father, Darren, Tyrone wants answers – and Roy promises to help him get them! So when Roy passes him the name and address for Evelyn – apparently Tyrone’s grandmother – the bewildered fella heads off with Fiz to ask her some questions. Will she be what they expect?
“Evelyn is a genuine battleaxe without a man to battle!” chuckles Maureen Lipman, who plays the fearsome woman. “She’s not frightened to say what she thinks. Evelyn is certainly outspoken – she’s a bit mean, and a bit embittered. I’m not saying I’m like that, but it wasn’t much of a stretch! She’s also funny, though, so that redeems her unpleasant qualities to some extent. However, she puts Tyrone in his place – and quite regularly!”
Although Tyrone is upset to be treated so harshly, he and Fiz are determined not to let Evelyn off the hook. They try to find out what she knows about Tyrone’s past – but Evelyn is evasive and uncooperative.
Initially, she tells Tyrone that he’s got this all wrong and there’s no way she could have a grandson. But as he and Fiz make Evelyn explain further, they realise there are holes in the story she’s spinning, and that she knows that everything Tyrone is saying is true. Evelyn orders them out of her house, as Tyrone angrily tells her that he will make her face up to the fact he’s her flesh and blood – whether she likes it or not!
After this initial, bruising encounter, Tyrone is feeling very low, but he’s in for another shock. A housing officer turns up, telling him that Evelyn is being evicted and that Tyrone’s name and address have been found at her house. Faced with no other option, Tyrone invites the awkward old lady to move into his own home, along with Fiz and the girls. So is Evelyn appreciative? Far from it…
“We don’t know what she did to get evicted,” explains Maureen. “I assume that she has so few friends and has upset so many neighbours that she doesn’t mind leaving! You’d think she’d be grateful
Evelyn is a genuine battleaxe – without a man to battle!”
when she gets to the new place, but far from it! She’s just as belligerent as before. Evelyn doesn’t like herself, that’s very obvious. She’s stuck in a pattern of behaviour. I hope she gets an ASBO – I’d love to see her tagged and doing community work with such bad grace. She is definitely heading for a comeuppance!”
Tyrone and Fiz are in for a rough ride as Evelyn settles into Coronation Street. By the end of her first week, she’s tried to rip off Dev, and set up a home from home in the Rovers bar. Can Tyrone win her round, or is Evelyn a lady not for turning?