Maureen Lipman had a spring in her step when she attended the Inside Soap Awards on Monday night, and with good reason.
The Coronation Street actress was making her first public appearance since confirming her engagement to her business consultant boyfriend, David Turner.
And what an appearance it was, with the veteran star winning Comic Performance for the fourth year in a row thanks to her role as Evelyn Plummer.
Lipman, 78, had unconventionally chosen to propose while trying to tell a joke during a recent train ride with Turner, also 78.
But she was back at work, at least in some capacity, when the annual Inside Soap Awards began at London’s Salsa Temple, where she was joined by her Coronation Street co-stars.
Maureen Lipman attended the Inside Soap Awards at Salsa Temple in London on Monday night.
It was her first public appearance since confirming her engagement to her business consultant boyfriend, David Turner (pictured).
Lipman, who has starred in the soap since 2018, opted for a collared shirt dress for her night out at the venue, a vibrant cocktail bar on Victoria Embankment.
She finished the look with a pair of flats, while her short hair was styled in a simple side part.
Speaking about her recent engagement to Spectator, she wrote: “Later that night, my partner David and I decided to tell our children that, with a combined age of 156, we are getting married.
‘Actually, he was quite against the “M” word, but on a train returning from Edinburgh he mentioned that it was the minor holiday of Tu B’Av, a day when a Jewish woman can ask a man to marry her.
‘Unable to resist the gag, I slid under the table separating us on one knee and asked for her hand. To my surprise and slight panic, he gave it to me.
The actress was married to TV writer Jack Rosenthal for 30 years until his death in 2004 and they welcomed daughter Amy, 50, and Adam, 48. David also has three children from a previous relationship.
Writing about how the children took to the news, she shared: ‘All the reactions were warm and they were all individual.
‘One boy said he needed time “to process it.” We broke the news to another as he slid sheets across a new dining room table, transforming the scene into a Jack Rosenthal play, one that, I like to think, has a happy ending.
Screen veteran Lipman, who has played Coronation Street’s Evelyn Plummer since 2018, opted for a collared shirt dress for her night out at the venue.
She finished the look with a pair of flats, while her short hair was styled in a simple side part.
Maureen first mentioned David in the fall of 2023, when she shared that she was bringing a “gentleman friend” to that year’s National Television Awards.
In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Express, he said: “I’m going with my gentleman friend David.”
Speaking about finding love again at 77, the star was delighted to be sharing life with a partner.
She said: ‘It’s a gift to all concerned. It’s a gift and he was very kind. I’ve met some nice men in my life, some really interesting men, and we’ll see where it all goes.
They made their public debut at the Oldie Of The Year Awards in November.
At the event, Maureen said of David: “That’s my partner.”
Following the death of her husband, Maureen dated Italian businessman Guido Castro for 13 years before his death in 2021.
The actress was married to TV writer Jack Rosenthal for 30 years until his death in 2004 (pictured on their wedding day in 1973) and they welcomed daughters Amy, 50, and Adam, 48 .
She had a 13-year relationship with computer expert Guido Castro, who died in 2021, after his body was ‘weakened’ by COVID-19 (pictured in 2014).
Speaking about her partner’s death, Maureen confirmed: “He caught COVID – it wasn’t COVID that killed him, but it weakened him terribly.”
“We don’t know how or when he got it, or if he had it when he got the vaccine.”
Maureen added heartbreakingly: “I said to Guido, ‘It’s time to go.’ You have to let it go.” And I think for the first time in his life he did what I told him.
Maureen is now best known for her role as the grandmother of established character Tyrone Dobbs.
She has appeared on the Manchester soap as Evelyn Plummer, mother of addict Cassie Plummer, since 2018.
The role has earned her two awards: Best New Actress at the Inside Soap Awards and Best Comedy Performance at the British Soap Awards.
Maureen plays Evelyn Plummer, the long-lost grandmother of Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall) in Coronation Street.