Coronation Street fans declare 'thriving new era' as legend returns amid huge twist
Coronation Street fans have declared that 'a new era' is on the horizon for the programme following the return of Eva Price
Coronation Street fans have declared that 'a new era' is on the horizon for the programme following the return of Eva Price. The character has not been seen on the cobbles since 2018, but made a a major comeback in Monday night's episode of the world's longest-running TV soap.
During her last stint, Eva, who first appeared in 2011, made a rival out of Maria Connor (Samia Longchambon) when the hairdresser had an affair with her fiancé Aidan Connor. Instead of confronting Aidan head-on about his infidelity, she decided to take revenge by faking a pregnancy.
Maria discovered Eva's lies and exposed them all at the wedding, which resulted in them having a Dynasty-style catfight in a fountain. Eva later discovered that she was in fact pregnant with Aidan's baby and had planned to give baby Susie away to her stepsister Toyah Battersby (Georgia Taylor). However, Aidan (Shayne Ward) later took his own life and Eva began to grow close to her daughter, eventually opting to leave in the back of a taxi with her for good.
In hotly-anticipated scenes, Eva (Catherine Tyldesley) arrived back onto the Weatherfield backstreet with her husband Ben Driscoll, who had bought the Rovers Return for her as a surprise, much to the chagrin of Maria, who stormed round to number nine to relay the news to Fiz and Tyrone.
Eva had been living in Hull with Susie, as well as Ben's sons Ollie and Will, and she had no clue she was about to own the pub once ran by her mother Stella (Michelle Collins). Once reunited with her sisters Toyah and Leanne, Eva quickly set about putting things right between the pair of them, who have not been on speaking terms since Toyah stole Nick Tilsey (Ben Price) from Leanne.
However, once up and running, the celebrations did not last too long as it transpired that Carla Connor had not received payment for the pub in the first place, meaning that Eva was not yet the official owner. Eva started to pack her bags again and was preparing to leave as Ben promised that he would sort it all somehow.
True to his word, Ben did manage to get the sale process and simply told Eva that he had 'called in a favour'. Too excited to ask for any further explanation, Eva rang the bell and declared a pub lock-in. The party was roaring and Eva and Ben were enjoying a slow dance when she described the whole thing as a 'fresh start,' for them both just as a loud banging was heard on the pub doors.
A woman stormed into the pub and Eva quickly realised it was her mother-in-law Maggie (Pauline McLynn), and she introduced herself as the new landlady having put up the money for the pub in the first place. Quickly settling herself behind the bar as she had her belongings moved into the pub, Eva was left speechless as the episode drew to a close.
Fans of the programme quickly flocked to social media to share their reaction, with one writing: "The new era at the Rovers Return has begun!!! See there is some light hearted moments with the residents of #Corrie - more episodes like this please!!! Not even a police station or hospital scene in sight!!!"
Another said: "The new era! This is where #Corrie absolutely thrives. Community, the pub, good use of characters, strong script. It’s what makes a good soap. If they all start focusing more on this and less time on stunts and murders, they can win back the audience."
A third said: "Idk how to explain it, it’s just that this scene has soul. It feels alive" and a fourth added: "This new era of #Corrie with Eva and Ben at the forefront of the Rovers is going to be amazing!!"
Catherine has appeared in shows such as Scarborough and The Good Ship Murder since her initial exit from the serial, and also competed on Strictly Come Dancing. She was also set to star in a cancelled touring production of Bonnie and Clyde: The Musical last year and went viral over a social media scandal known as Cakegate in late 2023.
But Catherine has confessed she had been asked to head back previously, explaining that now was simply 'the right time' for her. Speaking to The Mirror, she said: "I really meant what I said when I left, that I would love to come back, cos Eva is so much fun to play. And it felt really serendipitous I suppose.
"I was in Malta, filming, and my agent said, ‘Kate would like to speak to you about Corrie’, and I assumed it was someone’s funeral. I thought ‘Somebody’s dying, they want me to rock up.’
"I remember my agent said ‘I don’t really know what to expect, let’s just keep a poker face, let’s hear her out, let’s see what happens.’ We were on a zoom and Kate said ‘Would you like to be landlady?’ and I went ‘Aaagh!!’ My agent was like that, ‘Nice one.’ I was just really shocked, really shocked.
Coronation Street is on ITV and STV at 8pm Monday, Wednesday, Friday and ITVX and STV Player at 7am