On The Cover Maureen Lipman
525 years into a varied showbiz career, Maureen Lipman is relishing dramatic challenges present and future…
“I Have A Restless Mind”
Maureen Lipman never seems to sit still. Her role as CoronationStreet’s latest battleaxe would be enough for most people, but even on her days off the veteran actress is continually on the go.
Throughout our phone interview there are banging and clanking noises in the background, and Maureen eventually admits that she’s doing her cleaning at the same time as talking to us!
“I’m always doing something. I’ve got a restless mind and I can’t just do one thing at a time,” she explains.
“I can’t watch television unless I’m painting and if I’m talking on the phone, I’m often cleaning or dusting at the same time.
“I’ve seen so many friends and lovers struck down and when you’re in this decade you just have to think: let’sgo forit.”
Maureen (74) joined CoronationStreet in 2018 as Evelyn Plummer, the nononsense grandmother of Tyrone Dobbs. Lockdown of course brought a temporary pause to filming, but even then the indefatigable actress was not to be deterred.
So rather than sit at home twiddling her thumbs, she wrote her own play, TheGorilla AndTheUnicorn, for her two grandchildren, Ava and Sacha.
And despite their tender ages – eight and five – the youngsters were expected to meet Maureen’s high professional standards.
“We had proper rehearsals, with proper voice warm-ups first – lots of tongue-twisters!” She laughs. “We rehearsed by Zoom for weeks and then we opened and closed in a garden in West London.
“It was a huge success with the six people who watched it and I hope it will run and run. I’ve been trying to do more, but they do get quite quickly fed up!”
Last month Maureen was included on the Queen’s Birthday Honours List to receive a Damehood.
“I’m proud to be honoured by the Queen and country that I love, for doing the work that I love,” she says, adding “So, gratefully, Happy Birthday Your Majesty – and thank you.”
OOn screen MMaureen’s’ character Evelyn can be quite the disciplinarian with her two great-granddaughters Ruby and Hope, but off-screen it appears it’s a very different story. “I try to be strict, but I’m so entranced by the miracle of them and astonished by what they do and how they think. I find fi them amazing.”
Maureen’s arrival on the cobbles c marked an incredible 50 5 years in the entertainment business. b She made her debut d in the 1968 film UpThe Junction J and since then has gone g on to appear in classic movies m including Educating Rita R and ThePianist.
Maureen, who was married tto writer Jack Rosenthal from 11973 until his death in 2004, i s also remembered for her nnow iconic TV adverts for
British Telecom in the 1980s, in which she played proud Jewish gran Beatie. She was only 40 when she made them, but has never had qualms about getting older.
“I never minded being classified as an oldie from being 59 and I think I went grey as soon as it became boring to go and get my roots done -– what a lovely end to a complete waste of time!” she says with glee.
“I’m probably more satisfied with myself now in a way than I was when I was young. I think there is a kind of doom-y contentment, because you don’t know what the hell is round the corner, so you have to enjoy each day as if it was your last.”
Maureen, who is in a relationship with former businessman Guido Castro, certainly seems to live life to the full. During lockdown she starred in the play Rose, which tells the story of an 80-year-old woman looking back over her incredible life.
Filmed in the empty Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester, it was then screened online. “Something like that comes along once in a lifetime,” she says proudly. “It was a piece of magic and had incredible possibilities for me as an actor; I was so happy.”
On the cobbles too there are challenges ahead.
Viewers have seen Evelyn finally let down her guard wit th her beau Arthur, even quittin ng her job at the corner shop when her boss Dev refuses her time off for a weekend away. When Evelyn proposes they go away for a month instead, Arthur suggests they call it a day, leaving a shocked Evelyn to go cap in hand to Dev, before demanding an explanation from Arthur.
Having just signed a new contract taking her to next September, there’s inevitably more drama in the pipeline. Back home, of course, there’s still plenty of cleaning.
“The awful thing is that when you’re not working, you just see all the dirt. But not only have you helped me with the cleaning, I’ve also changed the duck in the toilet, washed my hands and made some yogurt and fruit,” she quips. “Thank you very much – will you ring the same time tomorrow morning?”
After such an entertaining chat, it would be a pleasure! See WWW.ITV.COM/CORONATIONSTREET and on Twitter: @itvcorrie