It’s been 25 years since Eileen Grimshaw first turned up in Coronation Street, but now she’s leaving the cobbles and all the Weatherfield drama behind to start a new life in Thailand.
In the episode due to air on Friday, June 6, the Street Cars switch operator will say goodbye to the grey skies of Manchester and head off for sunnier climes in the Far East.
It follows the announcement earlier this year that Sue Cleaver, who plays Eileen, was quitting her role to pursue other projects…
“I’ve had 25 privileged years of working on Coronation Street,” says Sue, 61. “The door is still firmly open, but I decided it was time to embrace change, look for new adventures and live fearlessly.”
Eileen’s decision to move on comes after weeks of turmoil as she’s been left devastated by the death of her sister Julie Carp (Katy Cavanagh) while questioning her relationship with boyfriend George Shuttleworth (Tony Maudsley).
And the big life change comes following the arrival of Eileen’s son Jason (Ryan Thomas), who’s come back to Weatherfield for Julie’s funeral.
But as Eileen takes the plunge, the question is, will George be going with her?
Here, Sue, reveals more…
Having returned for his Aunty Julie’s funeral, Eileen’s son Jason asks his mum to go back to Thailand with him and be his business partner at the bar he runs out there. How does she react?
“She thinks, ‘What do I have? Why can't I?’ She's very fond of [her partner] George, but she knows she's settling. It’s an amazing opportunity. She doesn’t have anything to lose. Everybody's always come before her. She's looked after so many people, and is still looking after so many people. She's neglected her own needs in a way. She's thinking, ‘What have I done with my life? Where am I? What do I want?’ I just think she's reached that stage in her life.”
Eileen’s been struggling with her feelings for her boyfriend George for the past few weeks. What’s made her think that he isn’t the one for her?
“She had such bad experiences with men and George was kind and comfortable so she stuck with him. But before she died, her sister Julie was saying to her, ‘Are you sure he's the one? Life is short.’ Julie’s voice was in her ear saying, ‘You know this isn't the one for you. You're not in love with him. He's not making your heart sing.’ So she started to question her lot in life and if there is anything else out there for her.”
It’s interesting that you decided to leave Coronation Street to do something different, and Eileen is doing the same, in a way. Was that intentional?
“I wanted her to go off to pastures new to kind of mirror what I'm doing, so it was perfect. It seemed very apt. It's never too late to be brave and try something new. That's the journey I'm on and Eileen’s mirroring that by stepping out into the unknown.”
What was it like having Ryan Thomas, who plays Jason, back?
“Ryan was there from the start, so when I decided to leave, over a year ago, I rang him and said, ‘If they ask me about exits, I'd really like to say that you'd come back, but I don't know whether they'd go for it or not.’ And he just said, ‘Oh my gosh, of course, I would!’ which was so lovely for me. It was just so nice to have him back and filming those final scenes with him. It just felt like I’d come full circle really.”
Has Eileen been given the ending that you wanted?
“It was perfect. I'm so happy with the ending. I was so humbled by the way it’s been written and what it is. I felt very grateful to have such a wonderful ending written. It seemed very, very apt.”
Tell us about filming your final scene…
“It was filmed out of order so my last scene on screen was filmed a few days before my last day so that made it a lot easier. There were a few moments where it hit me and I was like, ‘Oh God, that's it. That is the end.’ It was strange. I had a nice dinner out with the Grimshaws [Gareth Pierce and Ryan Thomas, who play Todd and Jason] and the boys from Street Cars [Simon Gregson and Joe Duttine, who play the cab firm’s bosses Steve McDonald and Tim Metcalfe] in the evening after we'd filmed that final Eileen scene, and then we were back in to do other scenes. I don't like goodbyes, so the greatest thing for me was that I finished at the very end [of my last] day so I knew there wouldn't be loads of people there because I find that sort of thing uncomfortable. I had to get on the train because I had some work in London the next morning. And then I woke up on Saturday morning in the hotel and It was a sense of like, ‘That's it.’ And because it was exactly how I wanted it to be, it felt right.”
Will you watch Eileen’s exit when it airs?
“Yeah, I'll watch that last episode. It is the end of a chapter of my life.”
Would you consider returning to the Street in the future?
"I'm never going to feel like I'm that far away. I have too many connections there. I've got too many friends who are there and my husband [lighting technician Brian Owen] still works there so it's always going to be a huge part of my life. Maybe one day Eileen will bob back."
Coronation Street airs hour-long episodes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8 pm on ITV1 — see our TV Guide for full listings. You can also catch up on episodes on ITV
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