Coronation Street's Catherine Tyldesley was asked to return to ITV soap before

Catherine Tyldesley is about to make her highly anticipated return to Coronation Street, and fans can't wait to see what Eva gets up to when she's back on the cobbles.

The main change is that she's returning with a new husband and step-children (and a mother-in-law "from hell"), and she's going to be stepping into the pub now that Jenny Bradley (Sally Ann Matthews) has vacated it.

In conversation with RadioTimes.com and other press, Tyldesley opened up on her return, explaining that she'd actually been asked to go back before, but the circumstances weren't right, until now.

"I really meant what I said when I left, that I would love to come back because Eva is so much fun to play. It felt really serendipitous," Tyldesley explained.

"I was in Malta filming and my agent said, 'Kate [Brooks] would like to speak to you about Corrie', and I assumed it was for someone's funeral and they'd want me to rock up.

"Kate said, 'Would you like to be landlady?' and I screamed. I was really shocked. It's an absolute dream."

Tyldesley added: "I've been asked before to come back and I always made a point of emailing the producers because it genuinely didn't work in the past because I had other projects. 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."

She went on to explain how pleased she was to hear that Eva had been living a life full of love off-screen, with her husband Ben (Aaron McCusker).

"They're deeply in love," Tyldesley said. "They've got this blended family and it's been nice. I assumed when I was asked to come back she was going to have loads of baggage and trauma but no, that's not the case. There are obviously things that have happened in her past that we might see further down the line but in general, she's been having a lovely time!"

Tyldesley also praised Pauline McLynn, who's joining as mother-in-law Maggie, and will certainly stir things up.

"When I'm watching what she's doing on set, I'll watch the monitor and I know I'm seeing a Corrie icon. The way the writers have structured things for our characters is just hilarious, it's constant jibes. Deep down, there's a moment that we did not so long ago where Eva, in a roundabout way, says, 'If I wasn't with Ben and I'd just met Maggie, I think we'd be mates!' There are a lot of similarities."

Read more:

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• Coronation Street casts Doctor Who star for role in dark Todd Grimshaw storyline
• Coronation Street icon reveals unexpected cameo appearance from classic character was cut from Jenny exit episode
• Coronation Street boss teases brutal character "sacrifice" as soap approaches 65th anniversary

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