Dame Maureen Lipman spoke glowingly of the late Her Majesty The Queen as she shared personal memories of meeting the monarch.
In a chat with BBC presenter Kirsty Young, as the nation said an emotional last goodbye to Queen Elizabeth II on the day of her state funeral, the Coronation Street favourite told how she found out the sad news that the 96-year-old monarch had passed away.
Dame Maureen, who plays battleaxe Evelyn Plummer in the ITV soap, said she was preparing to go on stage at Manchester's Hope Mill Theatre when she discovered that the sovereign had died at her beloved Scottish home Balmoral.
But ahead of the news breaking the stage and screen star, who is starring in the one-woman production Rose, believes she had a 'premonition' that the Queen had passed. "I had a premonition Kirsty," she said. "I texted to a friend in Corrie 'I think the Queen is going to die.' I just had one of those strange experiences." READ MORE: King Charles in tears as Queen's coffin is lowered into vault and mourners sing God Save The King She added: "And then I thought the show would be cancelled.