Dame Maureen Lipman has opened up about a “problem” she faces on Coronation Street. The star has become a much-loved figure since her debut as Evelyn Plummer in 2018.
It was Maureen’s second appearance on the ITV show after appearing as Lillian Spencer over two decades ago. Evelyn however has been absent on screens recently after Maureen took a break from the show.
She has however vowed never to retire, admitting that she will “carry on as much as I’m wanted” or until she is physically incapable of continuing. And while Maureen enjoys her time on the soap, she admits there is a “big problem” with starring on the hit ITV show.
During an appearance on the 20 Questions podcast, Maureen explained: “One of the problems of being in a soap, for example, is that because you are doing eight or 10 scenes a day, you read it, you move it, and then you film it. Thank you.”
She continued: “You might get another crack if something has gone wrong technically, but on the whole, that’s it. It’s almost like radio but there’s cameras there, so you can’t do anything. People are just talking heads.”
She further elaborated on the lack of realism in soaps, saying: “They’re standing there saying, ‘Don’t you talk to me like that’ if it’s EastEnders or, ‘I’ll have a word with you’ if it’s Coronation Street, but you know, nobody is picking their nose or scrubbing their sink down while they’re talking, or making three martinis, it’s all just heads talking. That’s not what life is like.”
Maureen Lipman has shared some candid insights into her acting process and the challenges she faces, particularly with multitasking and maintaining continuity.
While speaking with interviewer Matt Stadlen, who was jotting down notes, she admitted to occasionally “picking her phone up” highlighting the complexity of human life by saying: “It’s very complicated a human life, we never just do one thing.”
The veteran actress, known for her honesty about her own shortcomings, confessed to being “very bad at continuity” which led to an amusing mishap during her early days on ‘Coronation Street’. Maureen recounted: “My first day, I think, on Corrie, I took my coat off and I’m very bad at continuity, because you have to do the same thing every time.”
She continued, recalling how she inadvertently wore her coat again after taking it off, only to be reminded that there wasn’t time for such actions on set.
Despite this, Maureen believes in the essence of acting as doing, which she finds challenging when restricted: “I took my coat off and then I put it on again and she gently said to me, ‘We don’t do anything, there’s no time to do anything’. But to me, acting is doing, so it’s hard.”
Lipman’s illustrious career began on stage in 1971 with the National Theatre Company, and she made her television debut four years later in the sitcom ‘The Lovers’.
Her breakout role came in 1979 with the sitcom ‘Agony’, but it was her portrayal of Beatrice “Beattie” Bellman in the BT adverts that cemented her place in popular culture.
The iconic “You Got An Ology” advert became a catchphrase that followed her everywhere, prompting people to recite it to her on the streets. The advert left such an impact that Maureen even penned a book about her experience with it.
