Coronation Street icon Catherine Tyldesley says soap has ‘lost its magic’ since swapping old set for ‘clinical’ location

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CORONATION Street favourite Catherine Tyldesley thinks the soap has lost some of its charm and blames that on its new home.

Catherine, 37, played the iconic Eva Price for eight years on the cobbles but left in 2018 to pursue other acting projects.

Catherine Tyldesley played Eva Price on ITV’s Coronation Street from 2011 to 2018

While she would love to get back to her role in Weatherfield, she’s not too keen on Corrie’s new set.

The beloved ITV soap moved to a new location at Trafford Wharf in 2014 after filming on the same set since 1982.

The old set was rumoured to be haunted and Catherine admitted she found the new location a bit clinical.

“I was completely in love with the old studios. The facilities they’ve got now are amazing, but it’s not the same,” she said on the Soap From the Box podcast.

The actress would love to return to the cobbles but finds the new set ‘a bit clinical’

She said the old sets were ‘definitely’ haunted and held fond memories for her

“There was something so special. “There was always the talk of the ghosts. The cleaners were constantly saying they had seen things.

“There was definitely energy, for sure.”

Asked if she thinks Corrie lost a bit of its magic after the studio move, she said: “I do. I know things have to change, and Corrie will forever be my second home. I hope to go back at some point. I adore it.”

“And I think the new place, when I first got there I was like, ‘Ooh, it’s a bit clinical.’ “

She left Corrie in 2018 to pursue other acting opportunities

Before rejoining Corrie permanently in 2011 after a brief appearance in 2006, Catherine had been up for the role of lady maid, Anna Bates, in Downton Abbey.

Joanne Froggatt ended up winning the role and would go on to be nominated for three Emmys for her performance.

“She’s the loveliest girl and a phenomenal actress,” Catherine said of Joanne but also admitted she was her biggest competition. “But I always used to walk into auditions and think, ‘Oh, Jo Froggatt is here, she’s got it’.”

The 37-year-old tied the knot with her husband and personal trainer Tom Pitfield in 2016.

Catherine is now working on Viewpoint, a new ITV drama

The pair have a five-year-old son called Alfie together.

Along with missing out on Downton Abbey, Catherine has one other career regret and that’s not doing Celebrity Bake Off.

She married personal trainer Tom Pitfield in 2016

“I wish I’d done Bake Off, I’d have probably won that. I would kill to do Bake Off,” she said.

“It’s mine and Tom’s favourite thing. We just love it. I feel like I got a lot of practice in lockdown. I was baking every day, then I got to the point where my jeans just didn’t fit anymore.”

The mum-of-one is now busy working on Viewpoint, a new ITV drama about voyeurs and undercover police in Manchester. 

The gripping five-part drama follows a tense surveillance investigation into a tight knit community and explores whether it is ever possible to observe the lives of others with true objectivity and zero effect.