An ITV Coronation Street star has broken down in tears as she issues a Barbara Knox update Corrie star Sally Ann Matthews has shared a poignant update on Rita Tanner star Barbara Knox, her fellow ITV soap actress, during an intimate Instagram Live stream.

Sally Ann spoke out over working with Barbara, who has starred on Coronation Street since 1964. During a question and answer session on Instagram with fans and followers, a viewer asked: “Have you ever imagined Rita leaving?”

Sally Ann admitted: “That’s a really difficult one, because Barbara’s 91. Barbara ain’t going anywhere any time soon. And in fact, she bemoans the fact that she’s not working more and she hasn’t got more lines to learn. I do think going forward that they are going to give her scenes where she’s got more dialogue, because she thrives off that.

“She’s bl**dy brilliant.” She added: “But she’s 91. I would rather… Barbara wants to do a couple of scenes with me. She doesn’t want to be in the Rovers with loads of people, she wants to be with me or she wants to be with Peter Gunn or with Patti or with Sal.

“And she just wants to have a three-page scene where she’s got something to get her teeth into, and she’s more than bl**dy capable of doing that, of learning the lines and going on.” Sally Ann appeared to be becoming emotional as she addressed the query from a viewer.

Speaking out after composing herself, she said: “She’d rather do that than sit in the Rovers where she’s got people who she doesn’t know and she’s talking about something where she doesn’t know what she’s talking about particularly.

“Yeah, she’s 91 and she’s brilliant. Sharp as a tack. And still tells me off. So I can’t ask for more than that really, can I?”

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