Coronation Street's Eileen Grimshaw has become a real fixture on the cobbles, having now been resident in Weatherfield for an incredible 20 years – not bad considering actress Sue Cleaver originally signed up for a three month stint.
Speaking to The Daily Mirror about her two-decade anniversary as much-loved Eileen, Cleaver revealed that, although she loves her job, it has resulted in some painful moments.
Eileen has been involved in a number of scraps during her time on the Street – most notably that epic fight with her enemy Gail Platt in 2004 – but Cleaver said that one on-screen fight actually left her unconscious.
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While Eileen was in a relationship with firefighter Paul Kershaw (played by Tony Hirst) in 2012, Paul's wife Lesley, who had Alzheimer's, had to come and stay with them.
And while filming an altercation between the characters there was an accident which knocked Cleaver out.
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"Judy (Holt, who played Lesley)'s character had Alzheimer's. She punched me, misjudged it and I got knocked out cold on the floor," Cleaver said. "I had to visit the hospital to get checked out – she was mortified. When it went out on screen they used the real sound from the punch on the show."
Luckily the actress didn't suffer any serious injuries but it's definitely painful to look back on that scene and know that the whack was real.
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Cleaver added that she believes her character is so popular because she feels like a real person.
"I originally said I'd stay about a year, but the place is so seductive," she said. "Everybody knows an Eileen. She's every woman, she's down to earth, level-headed and loyal. She's a great friend, but crap at everything else."
The actress recently said that she would like to see more quiet scenes between fewer characters coming up, particularly as this will help the soap meet social distancing guidelines.
"I think seeing characters in situ, just talking about nonsense or having a moan is great. They are the classic Corrie scenes. I wonder whether, with this production gap and what's happening, there will be more of that," she said.
Coronation Street currently airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7.30pm on ITV.
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