Liz Dawn may have played Vera Duckworth on Coronation Street for 34 years – but she has revealed she always had her heart set on working for rival soap Emmerdale.
The Leeds-born actress felt it would have been more appropriate, given her Yorkshire roots.
Coronation Street star Liz Dawn in Emmerdale at Christmas (ITV)
She told The Mirror: “It’s been a career-long ambition of mine to appear in Emmerdale. I am a Yorkshire girl after all.
“In a way it’s so strange that I became famous in Coronation Street, which is Lancashire through and through.”
But the 76-year-old actress was able to realise her dream with her cameo appearance in Emmerdale on Christmas Day.
Coronation Street star Liz Dawn with her on-screen husband, played by Bill Tarmey (Granada TV)
She played Mrs Winterbottom – a hard-to-please guest at Eric Pollard’s B&B.
Despite over three decades years on Corrie, the actress revealed she felt nervous at the prospect of starring in a new soap.
She admitted: “I knew all the crew recognised me as Vera, and I felt bit edgy.
Liz Dawn as Vera Duckworth in 1995 (ITV)
“But that’s not a bad thing – a few nerves do give you a bit of a lift."
Although Liz battles emphysema and also suffered a minor heart attack last year, she was coaxed out of retirement for the special apperance on Emmerdale.
She also revealed she would like to return to Emmerdale, saying: “I would love to do more episodes and bob back in and out from time to time to get more involved.”
Liz starred as Vera Duckworth in Corrie between 1974 and 2008, before she asked to be written out of the show for health reasons.
Vera died in her sleep, leaving viewers heartbroken, although she did return as a ghost in 2010, for a moving reunion with husband Jack (Bill Tarmey) as he died (below).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMy_dUgGKJU
