GETTING HITCHED Coronation Street legend, 80, getting married THIS WEEKEND after proposing to new man on the train
CORONATION Street legend is set to walk down the aisle this weekend at the age of 80.
The iconic Weatherfield actress popped the question to her new man during a train journey.
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This Morning’s Gyles Brandreth revealed that his friend Dame Maureen Lipman, loved for playing Evelyn Plummer in Corrie, is getting married this weekend.
In a new episode of his podcast Rosebud, Gyles revealed: “Dame Maureen Lipman, this Sunday I will be going to her wedding. She’s getting married.
“She’s getting married in the morning! I think it’s actually the afternoon. I’ll be there. Isn’t it fantastic?
“To get married in your 80th year is fantastic.”
The Yorkshire-born actress got engaged to her boyfriend, David Turner last September.
Maureen asked David to marry her while they were on the train – 20 years after the death of her first husband, and three after her partner passed away.
The star explained that the couple were on their way home from event when she decided last minute to pop the question after realising it was the one day of the year Jewish women can propose.
Maureen wrote in the Spectator: “Later that night my partner David and I decided to tell our children that, with a combined age of 156, we are going to get married.
“In truth I had been rather against the ‘M’ word, but on a train coming back from Edinburgh he mentioned that it was the minor festival of Tu B’Av – a day when a Jewish woman can ask a man to marry her.
“Unable to resist the gag, I slid under the table separating us on to one knee and asked him for his hand. To my surprise and slight panic, he gave it.”
Maureen Lipman’s Coronation Street exit storyline confirmed as Evelyn Plummer makes announcement to grandson Tyrone
The pair decided to tell her children the happy news on September 8th – on what would have been the birthday of her late husband Jack Rosenthal.
Maureen first mentioned David in late 2023, when she brought him as her date to the National Television Awards.
Her first husband, Jack, was a screenwriter for Coronation Street, writing 250 episodes.
Tragically, Jack died in 2004, with Maureen later meeting partner Guido Castro.
She was in a relationship with the businessman for 13 years, but in 2021, he sadly passed following a battle with coronavirus, which left him “weakened”.
Real-life soap couples
Soaps are renowned for their sweet and scandalous romances – but it’s not just in scripted storylines where love is blossoming. A number of our favourite small-screen actors have fallen for co-stars and soapland rivals when the cameras have stopped rolling.
Max Parker and Kris Mochrie
- Despite playing brothers Luke and Lee Posner on Emmerdale, the pair never actually shared any scenes together. But the pair still fell in love after meeting on set. Max and Kris got together in 2020, moving in together later than same year and got engaged in 2022. In a sweet Instagram post, the couple confirmed they’re planning a 2025 wedding.
Beth Cordingly and Ian Kelsey
- Beth, who plays Ruby Fox-Miligan, announced her love for her co-star Ian Kelsey, who played Dean Glover, shortly after she joined Emmerdale at the beginning of 2024. “I am very in love with Ian and very happy. I think it really does work him being an actor too. He has been so fantastic,” she gushed.
Laura Norton and Mark Jordan
- Kerry Wyatt and Daz Eden actors Laura and Mark met on the set of Emmerdale in 2014. The couple, who got engaged in 2018, told Loose Women they spent a long time deciding whether they should “just stay as friends.” Although it seems they were meant to be and the pair now share two children together.
Zoe Henry and Jeff Hordley
- Emmerdale favourites Zoe and Jeff, who play Rhonda Goskirk and Cain Dingle met at drama college in 1994 and have been together ever since. While working together might be too much for some couples, that’s definitely not the case for Zoe and Jeff. Zoe previously told The Sun: “Working on the same show as Jeff also helps because if one of us is having a bad day then the other will completely understand.”
Lesley Dunlop and Chris Chittell
- Lesley and Chris are another Dales romantic success story. Unlike some of the other soap stars, the pair who play Brenda Walker and Eric Pollard, are together on and off screen, officially tying the knot in 2016. They also adore working together, but have clear home-work boundaries. “We make a point of not talking about Emmerdale when we’re at home, though – that would be just too sad, wouldn’t it?” Chris revealed.
Sally Carman and Joe Duttine
- Abi Franklin and Tim Metcalfe actors Sally and Joe got together after meeting on the set of Coronation Street in 2017 and they tied the knot in July 2022. But unlike some of the Emmerdale stars, Sally and Joe prefer that their characters don’t interact much. Sally previously admitted it “would be horrendous” to work on a storyline with Joe because “he’s too funny.”
Anthony Cotton and Peter Eccleston
- Sean Tully may have been unlucky in love on the cobbles, but in real life Antony’s met his Prince Charming. The soap star started dating long-term partner Peter in 2005, after they met when he was working as an assistant props buyer on Corrie.
Jane Danson and Robert Beck
- Corrie favourite Jane Danson tied the knot with soap star Robert Beck in 2005. The actress, who plays Leanne Battersby, shares two children, Harry and Sam, with the former Brookside star. During their marriage, Robert has also done a stint in Weatherfield playing criminal Jimmy Dockerson.
Caroline Harding and Chris Gascoyne
- Chris, who played pub landlord Peter Barlow, married soap star Caroline in 2002. Although she is best known as an Emmerdale star, Caroline did visit her husband at work when she did a two-episode stint as doctor on the Manchester soap in 2020. The couple share a daughter called Belle, plus two children, Pip and Freddie from Caroline’s previous marriage.
Nadine Mulkerrin and Rory Douglas Speed
- Nadine Mulkerrin, and Rory Doulas Speed are known for their Hollyoaks alter egos Cleo McQueen and Joel Dexter. The loved-up pair got engaged on a December 2018 trip to Amsterdam – just over a year after they announced they were dating. They now share two kids, Reggie and Dougie.
Sophie Austin and Shayne Ward
- Former Hollyoaks star Sophie, whose best known for playing villain Lindsay Butterfield, was introduced to singer and ex-Corrie star Shayne through mutual friends. She gave birth to their daughter Willow in December 2016 and they welcomed a son in 2022.
Maureen has had a glittering career on stage and screen – from her iconic role as Evelyn Plummer in Coronation Street to hit film Educating Rita and ITV comedy Agony.
She was even made a Dame for her services to charity, entertainment and the arts.
Meanwhile, her character on the ITV soap has gone to university to study law as she embarks on a new career and moves into university halls.
A spokesperson confirmed she decided to take a sabbatical.
But Evelyn will come back to visit her son Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall), daughter Cassie Plummer (Claire Sweeney) and grandchildren, Hope (Isabella Flanagan) and Ruby (Billie Naylor).
An insider told The Sun: “As Evelyn went off to uni, it makes sense for her to pop back in from time to time.”
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