WHEN Corrie bosses told Catherine Tyldesley they wanted her back, she assumed one of the show’s main characters had died.

Her character Eva Price had left Weatherfield seven years ago to live in France with her daughter — and the actress reckoned the feisty barmaid was only returning for a funeral.

But it turned out producer Kate Brooks wanted to give her one of the ITV soap’s most coveted jobs — landlady of the Rovers Return.

Catherine, 42, revealed to the Sun she is thrilled Eva will follow in the footsteps of show legends Bet Lynch and Liz McDonald as the pub’s boss.

She said: “I was in Malta filming, and when my agent said Kate wanted to speak to me about Corrie I assumed it was someone’s funeral.

“I thought somebody’s dying — they want me to rock up.

“My agent said, ‘I don’t really know what to expect. Let’s just keep a poker face and see what happens.’

“We were on a Zoom call and Kate said, ‘Would you like to be landlady?’ and I went ‘Aaargh!’

“My agent was like, ‘Nice one.’ I was just really shocked.

“It’s an absolute dream. I remember watching the show as a kid, thinking, ‘God, I’d kill to be landlady one day. How cool would that be?’”

She originally left Coronation Street to pursue other acting roles and spend more time with her young son Alfie, now ten, who she shares with her personal trainer husband Tom Pitfield. The couple also have daughter Iris, three.

‘Powerhouse couple’

Since leaving the cobbles, Catherine has appeared in a string of hit dramas as well as Strictly Come Dancing where she finished 11th with pro partner Johannes Radebe in 2019.

She also appeared in ITV detective series McDonald & Dodds and reunited with her Corrie co-star Shayne Ward for high seas crime drama The Good Ship Murder on Channel 5.

And Catherine, who lives in Greater Manchester with her family, says her cobbles comeback came at just the right time.

She recalled: “I’d been away for nine months.

“I feel really blessed to have carried on working and done some great things, but I remember my husband Tom saying to me, ‘God, I hope your next job’s in Manchester, Cath’ — and then we got this call.

“I’ve been asked before to come back but it didn’t work in the past because I had other projects. This time, I was like, ‘This could work’.

“So it all came around at the right time. On a personal and professional level it felt right, and I’m so thrilled to be back. It’s just been gorgeous.”

I’ve been asked before to come back but it didn’t work in the past because I had other project. This time, I was like, this could work

Catherine

But slipping back into Eva’s trademark cackle has not been as easy.

Catherine said: “The laugh coming back has taken some work.

“I think my pitch had dropped a little bit, so that’s a vocal warm-up. Only dolphins can hear me.”

The Sun exclusively revealed that Shameless hunk Aaron McCusker will debut on the soap as Eva’s partner Ben Driscoll, while his mum Maggie will be played by Pauline McLynn — best-known as Father Ted’s hilarious housekeeper Mrs Doyle.

Another aspect that tempted Cath back was show bosses assurance that Eva and Ben would not cheat on each other.

She said: “Kate had told me that they had been together for a while. She wanted a powerhouse couple at the front of the pub that genuinely just thought the world of each other.

So it all came around at the right time. On a personal and professional level it felt right, and I’m so thrilled to be back. It’s just been gorgeous

Catherine

“That was really refreshing, because I thought, are they gonna bring us in and then split us up?

“Aaron, who plays Ben, is a real stellar actor. I’ve watched most of what he’s done before and our paths have almost crossed several times, so I think we were destined to work together. He’s just been fantastic.

“And then to bring Pauline in as well. The entrance at the end of that episode was just a total mic drop.

“I feel incredibly lucky to be alongside Aaron and Pauline. It’s lovely.”

‘Brand new icon’

Catherine admits she is “a little bit obsessed” with Pauline, who plays Eva’s mother-in-law from hell.

She confessed: “Pauline is like my girl crush. She’s phenomenal. She is hilariously funny but also the heartbreak side of things — she’s incredible. Corrie fans are going to adore her.

“She is going to be a brand new Corrie icon. I just love watching her.”

Viewers will be relieved to know that Eva hasn’t lost any of her joy during her time away.

And she has no dark secrets waiting to be exposed as bosses hope her comeback makes the Rovers Return the nation’s favourite fictional boozer once again.

Catherine said: “I asked Kate what Eva had been through over the years — has she had a good time, a bad time?

“She was like, ‘She’s met this wonderful guy. They’re deeply in love and they’ve got this blended family and it’s been really nice.’

“When I was asked to come back, I thought, ‘Oh gosh, is she going to have loads of baggage and trauma?’ But that’s not the case.

When I was asked to come back, I thought, oh gosh, is she going to have loads of baggage and trauma? But that’s not the case

Catherine

“There are things that have happened in her past that we might see down the line but, in general, she’s been having a lovely time.”

As for Eva’s future, she could be part of storylines as memorable as previous Rovers landladies.

Bet Lynch left the pub after a dramatic fire, Vera Duckworth had to close the doors temporarily due to a suspected poisoned hotpot, and Liz McDonald’s husband Jim tried to buy the boozer by staging an armed robbery.

Cath said of her return: “It’s like l’ve been in a cupboard and they’ve said, ‘Shall we bob her on?’”

But she can’t comment if she is back on dry land for good after recently finishing filming the third series of The Good Ship Murder.

Catherine said: “I couldn’t possibly say. I had a blast filming and who knows what the future holds?”

As for the big Corrie and Emmerdale crossover which is due to air next year, Cath has been sworn to secrecy.

But she did let slip: “I can’t say anything about Corriedale except the fact that it is phenomenal.

“I am so excited to watch it. It is brilliant — they’ve played a blinder.”