A number of Corrie fans were left surprised to learn of Paula Wilcox's age as she celebrated her birthday on Wednesday.
Paula plays Elaine Jones in the long-running ITV soap, mum of Tim Metcalfe. However, Paula first stepped on the cobbles back in 1969 as Ray Langton's troubled sister Janice.
Janice had been on the run from her probation officer after a sentence for robbery and got into a whole heap of trouble while she was staying with her brother in No. 9. She later left the cobbles after stealing a car with her lover, the Mirror reports.
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Since returning to the soap as Elaine, Paula's character has been at the centre of a number of dramatic storylines, including helping Yasmeen Nazir to expose her ex-husband Geoff as the monster he really was.
With a TV-career spanning decades, Paula turned 73 today (December 14). And after one fan posted a photo of her and well wishes to mark the occasion in a Coronation Street fan group on Facebook, many people were shocked as they thought she was much younger.
One woman said: "Gosh, 73 looks great on her. I'd have guessed she was much younger. Happy birthday!" and another soap fan said: "A brilliant actress, and a beautiful lady. I'd have said younger than 73".
A third said: "She looks fantastic, happy birthday Paula", while a fourth said: "Looking amazing, but will always be Chrissy in Man About the House to me".
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