A fan favourite Coronation Street star is taking a break from the ITV soap – to film exit scenes for a rival programme.
Catherine Tyldesley returned to the cobbles in October 2025, reprising her role as Eva Price.
Upon her comeback, Eva became the new landlady of The Rovers Return, running the pub along with new partner Ben Driscoll (Aaron McCusker) and their blended family.
The 42-year-old actress also portrays main character Kate Woods in Channel 5 drama The Good Ship Murder.
She is now reportedly due to fly to Malta this spring to shoot her departure.
A source told The Sun newspaper’s TV Biz column: ‘Cath spoke to her bosses at Corrie about taking some time off to film her Good Ship exit and they agreed.
Catherine Tyldesley returned to Coronation Street as Eva Price late last year, after a seven year absence
Eva made a comeback to Weatherfield alongside her new family the Driscolls, including partner Ben and his mother Maggie (pictured)
Prior to reprising her role as Eva, Catherine had been starring in Channel 5 drama The Good Ship Murder alongside former Corrie co-star Shayne Ward
‘When she agreed to return to the soap there was a lot of uncertainty about whether or not she would be able to go back, but fortunately it’s all working out.’
The Good Ship Murder series three comes to an end this month, ahead of the start of filming on series four later this year.
Catherine appears alongside her former Corrie co-star Shayne Ward (Jack Grayling) in the crime drama, and her character Kate is expected to bow out of series four with a ‘happy ending’.
The source added: ‘There was talk about possibly killing off her character but in the end bosses decided that she would get a happy ending.
‘The writers are delighted that Cath is able to return to film her exit.
‘Cath and Shayne have formed such an incredible partnership on-screen and the viewers deserve to see how it all ends for them.’
Catherine’s Corrie return came following a seven-year absence from Weatherfield.
Shortly afterwards, the star told how she thought the soap’s bosses were trying to bring back an ‘old school Corrie vibe’ on the show.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, she said: ‘What Kate Brooks, our wonderful producer, has done is bring back an old school Corrie feeling.
‘She is super passionate about that and she is a big Corrie fan and that was one of the reasons I agreed to come back, was because of her vision for the show and where she wanted to take it.
‘Finding those character-led storylines, with strong women at the forefront is something Corrie has always done so well and that the audience seem to crave, and I think Kate is feeding that.
Coronation Street bosses have reportedly granted Catherine time off to film her exit from The Good Ship Murder
‘It’s important to move with the times but also know who your target audience is, everyone kept saying they want that ‘Old school Corrie vibe, we want it be character led’ and I feel the show is nailing that.’
In early 2025, Catherine was first reported to be returning to Coronation Street – with bosses said to have been trying to entice her back for years.
A source told The Sun: ‘Cath has been away for a while and worked on countless other projects but she really missed Corrie.
‘They’ve tried to get her back a few times but the stars have never aligned.
‘But when she was approached with the idea for Eva’s return, it was too good of an opportunity to pass up.’
During her previous tenure on the cobbles, Eva had a relationship with Aidan Connor (Shayne Ward) but he had an affair with Maria Connor (Samia Longchambon).
As an act of revenge when she found out, Eva faked a pregnancy and spent Aidan’s savings on a pink Range Rover.
The pair later become engaged but Maria burst into the wedding to expose the truth about the fake pregnancy.
A short time later, Eva discovered that she was actually pregnant with Aidan’s baby but agreed to give the child to her half-sister Toyah Battersby (Georgia Taylor).
Soon after that, Aidan took his own life in 2018, and Eva became attached to baby Susie and left the cobbles in the back of a taxi with her.
Meanwhile, Catherine went on to appear in shows including short-lived sitcom Scarborough.
Coronation Street airs on ITV1 and is available to stream on ITVX.