According to upcoming theatre listings, Maureen Lipman, who is soon to turn 80, is starring in a new play called 'Allegra' by Peter Quilter, which will tour the UK starting at the Theatre Royal Brighton.
Lipman described her character in 'Allegra' as relentlessly happy. During The One Show, she elaborated that the character's unrelenting cheerfulness annoys others, and that the part requires singing, dancing, and speaking simultaneously. Viewers of The One Show praised Lipman's appearance on social media.
She's relentlessly happy and it drives everyone mad and they really want to sort of bring her down and make her more like everybody else. I have to sing, I have to dance and I have to speak - all at the same time. I can't really do any of them, but I'm having a good go. It's lovely because, you know, we're living in a world of vitriol and nastiness, and here comes this woman. I find joy every day, and she's batty. You would call her probably neurodivergent if you had the vocabulary. There's a policeman, there's a brother, there's a carer, and they're just trying to sort of keep her level but she can't and so she's got an orchestra in her head. So this is what we're taking around the country to cheer everybody up.
Regarding her future on Coronation Street, Lipman told Metro that she would return to Coronation Street only if offered a substantial storyline. The publication quoted her as expressing disappointment with the show’s recent focus on crime, including a remark about gruesome events in a knicker factory. She has scaled back her involvement from a regular role to recurring appearances, with a return date yet to be confirmed.
I love Corrie but I don't know when I am going back, they asked me at Christmas. I said, 'I will come back, but you will have to give me a proper storyline.' I am not just coming back to stand in the Rovers Return and say, 'I'm back'. Who cares?
We've come to a point in Corrie now where people are getting murdered in knicker factories. We're having domestic abuse. Anything that ticks the box of social problems in the 21st century is going to be in your local soap.