ITV Corrie's Dame Maureen Lipman claims she had 'premonition' the Queen would die

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."

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She added: "And then I thought the show would be cancelled. The directors came through that we were all to carry on." Speaking about going on stage following the news she recalled "It was very tender that night. My reaction was immediately visceral. I sobbed and then literally the show had to go on."

Dame Maureen, who has played feisty Evelyn since 2018 but first appeared in Corrie in 2002 as Rovers Return relief manager Lillian Spencer in six episodes, was made the soap's first ever dame in a ceremony at Windsor Castle.

She was honoured last year for her services to charity, entertainment and the arts from a career which has spanned more than 50 years. She was beaming as she was officially named