Maureen Lipman called on Coronation Street makers not to ‘ditch oldies’
She spoke as it emerged the makers of the show are finalising plans for the soap to return to production
Actress Maureen Lipman has said she called on the makers of Coronation Street not to “ditch the oldies”once the ITV soap returns to filming.
Filming has been paused since March because of the coronavirus pandemic but is reportedly set to resume in June.
Lipman, who plays Evelyn Plummer in the long-running series, said: “I had a word with the producer last week online and I said don’t ditch the oldies because the oldies are what Corrie is about. Otherwise we might as well call ourselves Hollyoaks.
“They said ‘oh no, we’ve no intention of doing that’, so I said ‘why don’t you just let me and Roy [played by David Neilson] sit in a garden somewhere and have a conversation about [US President] Donald Trump’s hair.'”
The makers of the show are finalising plans for the soap to return to production, a spokeswoman for the programme told the Press Association.
She said today: “We are in the final stages of working with others across the industry on a return to production protocol and we are in active discussions with Government on this.”
She added that the “health and wellbeing of our people and those who work with us has always been our highest priority and remains so as we look to restart production”.
Lipman made the comments during a guest appearance on the JN Podcast, released today, where she discussed the interactive cooking session she helped lead this week as part of the interfaith volunteering scheme Every Mitzvah Matters.
During the virtual cook-along, Lipman showed some 400 online users tuning in how to prepare her special bean and parsley soup recipe. “I was told there were going to be 200 people watching, which is scary enough. I am a very average cook and that’s spinning it slightly,’ she told the podcast.
She added: “But I am a great fan of Laura Marks, who started Mitzvah Day, and I think it’s a wonderful idea and I had actually said to her ‘I feel a bit selfish, you know I’m in my nice flat and I can go outside into my little courtyard and watch back birds nesting and see the fledglings and all of that … I suppose I’m vulnerable just because I’m over 70, and I don’t know how to help other people more than I do.'”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
