Coronation Street star Maureen Lipman has confirmed that a new edition is set to make their debut in the ITV soap - but it comes after a heartbreaking death. There are tragic scenes on the way as viewers will be saying a sad farewell to a Weatherfield favourite.
Spoilers for next week's Corrie have revealed that Evelyn Plummer, played by acting legend Maureen, calls into the café with her beloved dog Cerberus where Roy apologises for missing her birthday party and tells her about Carla’ Connor's problems as she's unaware she's being drugged with LSD by Stephen Reid.
But when Cerberus later shows no interest in his tea, Evelyn is concerned. With Cerberus still sick, a concerned Tyrone insists they take him to the vet. When the vet suggests food poisoning, a guilty Roy reveals he dropped an Eccles cake in the café and fears Cerberus may have eaten it.
Both angry and worried, Evelyn tells Roy that if anything happens to her beloved greyhound, she’ll never forgive him. But then, the vet breaks the news to Evelyn that Cerberus is suffering from kidney failure.
Later, Evelyn shuts Roy out and brands the cafe a death trap, while Roy tells Nina he’s getting rid of his phone as had he not been distracted, he would never have dropped the cake and Cerberus may still be alive.
Now, Maureen has revealed that a new four-legged friend with arrive on the Cobbles in the wake of Cerberus’ death. But it's actually Roy, played by David Neilson, who will find himself stuck with a new furry friend.
"A curious thing happens, someone dumps a dog on Roy," the actress revealed. "Now, Evelyn doesn’t want to know about this, it is small so she calls this dog a guinea pig with identity issues. But between you and me it is the most adorable thing you’ve ever seen, Roy and David are obsessed with this dog.
"He’s tremendously jealous if the dog comes to me first, he’s a man obsessed with this little ball of fluff." Corrie fans will initially see Evelyn putting on her usual tough exterior when initially meeting the new pooch. But despite her own sad loss, she soon comes around to the new addition on the street and even help Roy with training.
"Evelyn is having nothing to do with it on the surface, but then something happens with Roy which means she has to take the dog for a while but not permanently," Maureen said. "She tries to teach Roy what you do with a dog because he’s completely soft and clueless. She enrols Roy in her own dog class, which as you can imagine is very dogmatic!"
It comes after Roy actor David teased the new arrival himself. When supporting Mollie Gallagher during her recent stint on Dancing on Ice, he divulged that he had been joined on the show by a 'furry friend' to replace Mollie while she is showcasing her skating talents.
Host Holly Willoughby asked if the Corrie legend if he had ever had a mishap involving a prop and he replied: "Quite recently while Mollie has been doing this I've got a little friend to take her place while shes here." He added: "I can't say much because she's not on screen yet but I had this little thing on my hand and it left a little mess."
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