‘Evelyn is a geniune battleaxe’

Hold onto your hats, Storm Evelyn is approaching

Next week Detective Roy thinks he’s found out where Tyrone’s grandma lives, so Ty pays her visit. But any notion of a nice cuddly granny welcoming him with open arms is soon dispelled when Evelyn (played by the legendary Maureen Lipman) opens the door. A crochety woman in her seventies, Evelyn refuses to believe Ty is her grandson. But later, when she faces eviction, the grumpy cow’s forced to eat humble pie – though it doesn’t make her any nicer, as Maureen explains…

What attracted you to the role?

Evelyn’s not scared to say what she thinks. She’s outspoken, mean, a bit embittered – I’m not saying I am that, but maybe it’s not much of a stretch. And she’s funny, so that redeems her unpleasant qualities to some extent.

She’s a bit of a battleaxe…

She is a genuine battleaxe without a man to battle – except maybe picking fights with Dev and putting Tyrone in his place regularly.

Has Corrie changed since you were last on it [she played Rovers relief manager Lillian in 2002]?

When I was last here there were only three episodes a week. Now there are six and you can have four or more directors filming their episodes at any one time. There is something very comforting about coming back up north, my son says I am already speaking with a northern accent.

Physically, Evelyn is very different to you. Did you have much input into how she looks?

I didn’t get too involved. She is stuck in the past – her clothes are of someone who is always after a bargain, she has put her hair into victory rolls. She is not batty and flyaway, she is carefully dressed, but I try not to think about what she looks like, as I would just get depressed!

She ends up moving in with Fiz and Tyrone. How does she feel about them?

Fiz doesn’t stand a chance. No one would be good enough for Tyrone – not that she thinks he is good enough, either, but she grudgingly likes him and she thinks Fiz is boring. She sets out to drive her away by being critical and driving a wedge between them, which is a horrible thing to do.

What’s it like working with Cerberus the dog?

I love dogs, and the one who plays Cerberus is lovely and calm. I am happy she has him and you get to see the softer side of her.