Eva to bid farewell to the cobbles
It's been a tearful time for Catherine Tyldesley lately. Her character on Coronation Street, Eva Price, has faced a heartbreaking few months after her ex-boyfriend, Aidan Connor (played by Shayne Ward) took his own life.
And then there’s the fact the Manchester-born actress, 34, is bidding farewell to the cobbles, with her final scenes due next week.
“There’s zero point in me wearing mascara or fake tan at my leaving do because I’ll be a streaky mess,”
admits the chirpy mum-of-one, who joined the soap in 2011. “I’m gonna cry a lot.”
She adds matter-of-factly:
“Corrie has completely changed my life. I can’t say I’ve grown up on the show, but in a way I have — I met my husband while I’ve been filming here and had my baby.”
In true soap fashion, we can expect Eva’s exit scenes, which take place at the inquest into Aidan’s death, to be an intense watch.
We see her turn up to give evidence at the last minute, with her daughter Susie (who she had with Aidan) in tow, just as Aidan’s dad, Johnny, is beginning to give up hope he will be able to see his granddaughter one more time.
As the inquest ends, Eva’s sister, Toyah, begs her to stay in Weatherfield but it seems her mind is already made up, and she thinks it’s best for everyone if she goes.
With lots of emotional scenes involving her character recently, the response from fans has been huge — particularly following Aidan’s suicide storyline, with Tyldesley revealing she and Ward have been inundated with messages.
“Obviously we’re actors so we refer them to people that can help. Some of them have been utterly heartbreaking.
"People right on the edge: ‘I tried it last week’ type of thing — and ‘This storyline has helped me and I’m going speak to somebody’. It’s been mind-blowing, but fantastic. Not only have these storylines helped hundreds of people but they’ve saved lives. I think that’s phenomenal.”
It’s also made her think more about the mental health of people around her.
“By the time you get to my age, generally people are all affected by suicide in some way,” she notes.
“We lost a work colleague not long ago. It was a very similar situation [as Aidan’s] — there were no signs. Often I think that’s the case. He seemed so happy.
“You never know how someone is struggling. I always try to make a point of talking to people. If someone seems a bit quiet: ‘You alright?’”
The toll that acting out emotional scenes takes on the body is notable (another recent storyline saw Eva’s baby Susie kidnapped which was difficult for Tyldesley to film).
“It is tiring, because obviously you have to go there to make it believable,” she admits.
“Your nervous system doesn’t understand that you’re only pretending [to cry]. You’ve got to look after yourself and laugh as much as you can in between. Shayne [Ward] was always good for that.”
But she’s loved the material she’s been given to work with lately. And, with her character having recently become a mum, she’s also loved working with the babies who play her daughter, admitting it’s made her broody.
“They’re gorgeous — they’re twins,” gushes the star, who married fitness expert Tom Pitfield in 2016. “They’re so chilled and very easy to work with. Tom is like: ‘Stop holding babies!’”
Having more children (son Alfie was born in March 2015) isn’t on the cards for the couple anytime soon.
What Tyldesley is planning post-Corrie is some travelling as a family, with a few countries on the to-do-list. “The big one is Australia, hopefully next year,” she says. “I’ve got a lot of family over there that haven’t met Alfie yet.”
One thing about playing barmaid Eva that Tyldesley definitely won’t miss, it’s her, erm, interesting style choices. “Some of the outfits have been completely mental,” she exclaims, her eyes wide-eyed as she shakes her head laughing.
“I’m looking forward to saving money on fake tan and nails and remembering what my skin tone looks like. I said to Tom, ‘I’m going to be a right minger now. It’s all coming off!’”
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