{"id":104105,"date":"2025-10-27T21:53:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T21:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/104105\/"},"modified":"2025-10-27T21:53:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T21:53:09","slug":"5-ways-evas-return-episode-was-the-change-coronation-street-needed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/104105\/","title":{"rendered":"5 ways Eva’s return episode was the change Coronation Street needed"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was all change at the Rovers Return in Coronation Street<\/a> tonight (28 October) as Eva Price made her long-awaited return, taking over as the pub’s latest landlady. Eva got the surprise of her life when her partner Ben Driscoll<\/a> dropped the bombshell that he’d bought The Rovers for them, eight years after she’d originally left Weatherfield<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The couple have been joined by<\/a> Ben’s meddling mum Maggie, Ben’s eldest son Ollie and Eva’s daughter Susie. And Ben’s younger son Will is on the way too.<\/p>\n

The lively clan have kicked off a new era on the cobbles, and here is why we think tonight’s episode was exactly the change the show needed\u2026<\/p>\n

What to Read Next1. The Rovers is back in business\"eva<\/p>\n

ITV<\/p>\n

One of the most exciting things about Eva’s return is that it will bring The Rovers back to the centre of the show. And it’s about time too.<\/p>\n

Many viewers have long felt that the iconic pub isn’t being utilised to its best ability, but it was packed again tonight, and it looks like that is here to stay. <\/p>\n

Eva’s return as landlady will put The Rovers firmly at the heart of Weatherfield and show producer Kate Brooks has insisted that the pub has “never looked more lively and full of life” following the arrival of the Driscoll family. <\/p>\n

“There’s just so much warmth, joy and happiness in that room with all those people,” she said to us <\/a>at a recent press event. “For me the pub works really well if there’s a big family at the heart of it \u2013 a family that really loves each other.”<\/p>\n

2. Eva, Leanne and Toyah revisited\"toyah<\/p>\n

ITV<\/p>\n

Strong females have always been at the essence of Corrie’s DNA, and for that reason, we cannot wait for Eva’s dynamic with sisters Toyah and Leanne to be revisited properly.<\/p>\n

Tonight’s scenes saw Eva stepping straight into the middle of a family feud thanks to Leanne and Toyah’s ongoing love rivalry<\/a> over Nick Tilsley.<\/p>\n

Catherine, who plays Eva, reckons the trio are stronger when they are united. And it seems like the scriptwriters feel the same way, as they appear to have finally drawn a line under Leanne and Toyah’s recent tensions.<\/p>\n

“That [Eva, Leanne and Toyah] dynamic is great,” Catherine said to us. “They’re strong women and when they’re together, they’re even stronger.<\/p>\n

“They’re a real force to be reckoned with, they’ve got each other’s backs, it’s that solidarity. It’s such a joy to play as an actress \u2013 the three concubines of Nick Tilsley \u2013 and the girls are just a dream and we’ve stayed in touch.”<\/p>\n

3. No miserable backstory for Eva’s return \"eva<\/p>\n

ITV<\/p>\n

Yes, you’ve read correctly \u2013 Eva is not bringing any sad or sinister secrets back in her baggage with her. It’s a well-known trope in Soapland that returning characters must be revived with some sort of miserable backstory, but thankfully in Eva’s case, her time away from Weatherfield has seemingly been without its dramas (for now, anyway). <\/p>\n

For the last few years, Eva has been living happily in Hull with Ben, his sons, and Susie, and refreshingly, it looks like it’s all been relatively plain sailing. <\/p>\n

“When I was asked to come back, I asked [Corrie producer] Kate Brooks what Eva had been through over the years \u2013 whether she’d had a good time or a bad time”, Catherine explained<\/a>. <\/p>\n

“It was really refreshing actually, because she told me: ‘Eva’s had a lovely time in general. She’s met this wonderful guy called Ben, they’re deeply in love, they’ve got this blended family and it’s been really nice’.<\/p>\n

“I assumed when I was asked to come back that Eva would have loads of baggage and trauma, but no, that’s not the case. There are obviously things that have happened in her past that we might see further down the line but in general, she’s been having a lovely time.”<\/p>\n

4. Maggie as a new matriarch\"eva<\/p>\n

ITV<\/p>\n

Eva’s return is exciting, but it’s her mother-in-law Maggie (played by former Father Ted and EastEnders<\/a> star Pauline McLynn<\/a>) who could be the one to watch.<\/p>\n

Maggie is showing all the early signs of being a possible new Corrie matriarch and has already been described as an ‘interfering mother-in-law from hell’ who will be ‘ruffling many feathers’.<\/p>\n

She’s got some tough acts to follow, but could Maggie be about to become a new Corrie icon? Judging by her chaotic arrival at the end of the episode, the early signs are looking good\u2026<\/p>\n

5. It feels like classic Corrie\"will<\/p>\n

ITV<\/p>\n

After months of heavy, hard-hitting plots<\/a>, tonight’s episode felt nostalgic and more like ‘classic’ Corrie, thanks to the arrival of the Driscolls, with warmth, wit, and family at its heart.<\/p>\n

And the good news is that this theme is set to continue, with show bosses promising more of a focus on community, family and humour moving forwards.<\/p>\n

“There’s so much more to come with them, [the Driscolls],” Kate Brooks said. “There’s so much drama. Really family-centric dramas. Friendships are formed, friendships are developed. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you’ve just got this family at the heart of the Street now, they just invite people in warmly into their space, into their pub.”<\/p>\n

Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Read more Coronation Street spoilers on our dedicated homepage<\/a><\/p>\n

The new edition of Living Legends is here! Buy Ariana & Witches in newsagents or online<\/a>, priced at just \u00a38.99. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was all change at the Rovers Return in Coronation Street tonight (28 October) as Eva Price made…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":88841,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[2115,75531,2117,156,2116,111,139,69,75530,437],"class_list":{"0":"post-104105","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-content-type-news","9":"tag-contentid-abce7a43-85bd-4ff4-bbe4-f827bc67155f","10":"tag-displaytype-standard-article","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-locale-gb","13":"tag-new-zealand","14":"tag-newzealand","15":"tag-nz","16":"tag-shorttitle-5-ways-corrie-has-made-the-change-it-needed","17":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104105","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104105"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104105\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104105"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104105"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104105"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}