Maryland viewers obsessed as Grease icon makes a surprise appearance

Maryland might tell the story of Suranne Jones and Eve Best's sister characters, but all eyes were on Grease legend Stockard Channing, who appeared as one of the residents.

In Maryland, we follow Becca (Suranne Jones) and Rosaline (Eve Best) who discover their late mother was leading a secret double life on the Isle of Man, something that absolutely shatters them both.

But it was an appearance from Stockard Channing that had fans on social media talking, as she popped up in a mysterious scene where she didn't seem too welcoming to Becca and Rosaline, who had traveled there to get to the bottom of their mother's secrets.

Stockard's role in Maryland sees her playing a friend of the sister's mum, who is described as "larger than life" and certainly has some shady things going on if the first episode is anything to go by.

She is best known for playing the role of Betty Rizzo in the 1978 musical movie Grease but has also had major roles in TV shows like The West Wing and The Good Wife, so she's become a well-known actress over the years.

Everyone on Twitter was quick to comment on this, with one fan even writing "Not every day you see Rizzo pop up in an ITV drama is it?". No, probably not!

We haven't seen much of her character, Cathy, just yet but as the series continues over the next two nights we're expecting to see more from the acting legend as we unravel the mystery at the core of Maryland.

Even Stockard has admitted the character is quite "unexpected", and told What to Watch: "Cathy is an American, she's from Texas, and she lives on the Isle of Man, but we don't know that much about her background. 

"She's not a mystery woman, but she lives very much in the present and has a sort of existential attitude towards life — and she makes her living by dealing in illegal substances! She's a bit of a loner, but she and Mary were very, very close."

Maryland continues on ITV1 at 9 pm on Tuesday, May 23. Episodes are also available on ITVX.