Coronation Street legend Dame Maureen Lipman is set to return to her role as Evelyn Plummer in the near future after taking a break from the ITV soap earlier this year.
The character left the cobbles when she decided to attend university to read law, after being encouraged to pursue her passion by best friend Roy Cropper (David Neilson)
Last year, Maureen announced that she would be taking a ‘gap year’ from the show, explaining that Evelyn would be ‘in and out’ so that the actress could ‘have a bit of a life’.
She last appeared on screen in March after learning that daughter Cassie Plummer (Claire Sweeney) had been cast out by the locals after being caught out for drugging and stealing from Ken Barlow (William Roache).
When she learnt that Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford) had tempted Cassie with drugs, she decided to stand by her, even considering dropping out of university.
Metro understands that Evelyn will be back on our screens for a few weeks in the near future as Maureen returns to filming.
![FROM ITV STRICT EMBARGO - No Use Before Tuesday 10th December 2024 Coronation Street - Ep 1145960 Friday 3rd January 2025 At the university, Evelyn Plummer [MAUREEN LIPMAN] heads in for her interview and is dismayed to come face to face with Marjorie Tavistock, the woman she impersonated at the Chariot Square law lecture. Is Evelyn???s dream over? Picture contact - David.crook@itv.com Photographer - Danielle Baguley This photograph is (C) ITV and can only be reproduced for editorial purposes directly in connection with the programme or event mentioned above, or ITV plc. This photograph must not be manipulated [excluding basic cropping] in a manner which alters the visual appearance of the person photographed deemed detrimental or inappropriate by ITV plc Picture Desk. This photograph must not be syndicated to any other company, publication or website, or permanently archived, without the express written permission of ITV Picture Desk. Full Terms and conditions are available on the website www.itv.com/presscentre/itvpictures/terms](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/SEI_232162186-5d51.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
‘As Evelyn went off to uni, it makes sense for her to pop back in from time to time,’ a source told The Sun.
Co-star Claire Sweeney previously spoke to Metro about her hopes that Maureen would soon return to the show, saying: ‘[Maureen’s] dipping in and out now. Whenever she goes, we had a few drinks with her the other day and we were like: “You’ll be back, we’ll see you soon.”
‘She goes off to do a play or whatever she’s doing but hopefully she’ll be back.’
Last year, Maureen took a swipe at Corrie’s dark storylines, and harked back to its formative years – a time when many scripts were penned by her late husband, prolific screenwriter Jack Rosenthal.
‘We’ve come to a point in Corrie now where people are getting murdered in knicker factories’ she told the Beyond the Title podcast.
‘We’re having domestic abuse. Anything that ticks the box of social problems in the 21st century is going to be in your local soap.’
She continued: ‘Whereas back then you had the freedom to put Martha [Longhurst], Minnie [Caldwell] and Ena [Sharples] in the snug and have a conversation about Ben-Hur.
‘It’s never been political but I always like it when the women sit down and go, “Ooh, Donald Trump, ain’t his hair shocking.”‘
‘People talk like that, and we recognise it as true.’
