Coronation Street confirms Eileen Grimshaw's temporary exit story

Coronation Street spoilers follow from the Christmas Day special.

Coronation Street has confirmed Eileen Grimshaw's temporary exit storyline.

Sue Cleaver, who plays Eileen, took a break from filming to compete in the recent series of ITV1's I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!

Eileen remained on screen when the reality series was on air, as Corrie films scenes around six to eight weeks in advance of broadcast. However, the Weatherfield action has now reached the point where Sue took her time away.

In Corrie's hour-long festive special, Eileen received a nasty Christmas Day shock for the second year in a row.

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After Eileen's partner George Shuttleworth "treated" her to a bespoke funeral package last year, the pressure was on for him to impress her with a more suitable gift.

Unfortunately, George's plans to buy Eileen a new sofa had already backfired earlier this week, when he realised that he'd been tricked into buying a miniature model for a dollhouse.

Keen to salvage things on Christmas Day, George tried to trick Eileen into believing that he'd bought an expensive new sofa.

Eileen was livid to realise that it was in fact a coffin stuffed with pillows and covered in an old bedspread. To make matters worse, George confessed that it was the coffin he'd controversially bought for her last year.

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ITV

As Mary Taylor praised the coffin's craftmanship, Eileen ranted: "The craftmanship is neither here nor there. How many people eat Christmas dinner out of their own coffin?"

Addressing George, she added: "What have you got planned for later? Walking off Christmas dinner with a stroll through the cemetery to pick my plot?

"I am not spending Christmas contemplating my own mortality."