‘Coronation Street’ will farewell its longest-serving female cast member, with Eileen Derbyshire set to quit the cobbles after 55 years playing Emily Bishop.
The Corrie veteran took a six-month break in November last year, which she later extended, and now the Sun reports that she has no plans to return to the street.
The newspaper quotes a show insider, saying: “All of her cast mates have accepted she won’t be returning.
“She’s 85 and has been out of the show for a year, so she probably would have found it tough to get back into the fast pace of filming.”
Eileen has been with the soap since 1961, making her the second longest-serving cast member after William Roache.
Her character Emily has always been a pillar of the community, taking in lodgers over the years including Percy Sugden, Curly Watts, her own nephew Spider, Rita Tanner and Norris Cole.
Last year, viewers saw her character depart the street, saying she wanted to do charity work in Peru.
Eileen Derbyshire was made an MBE in the 2010 honours list, alongside fellow cast member Barbara Knox.