Coronation Street star Sally Ann Matthews has issued an update on co-star Barbara Knox, who plays Rita Tanner on the

soap.

Responding to fans’ queries on Instagram, Matthews confirmed Knox — who started playing Rita in 1964 — is staying on the

cobbles.

“That’s a really difficult one, because Barbara’s 91. Barbara ain’t going anywhere any time soon,” Matthews said.

The Jenny Bradley star continued: “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 bloody brilliant.”

Speaking on Knox’s preferences for a scene, Matthews said: “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 (Brian Packham) or with Patti [Clare, who plays Mary Taylor] or with Sally [Dynevor, who plays Sally Metcalfe] 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 bloody capable of doing that, of learning the lines and going on.”

She finally added: “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,” she added.

Knox is the second longest-running cast member on Corrie behind William Roache, who has played Ken Barlow since 1960.