I wrote my own happy ending before I told Corrie bosses was leaving

She persuaded her on-screen son to make a comeback

- SUE CRAWFORD

Playing feisty Eileen Grimshaw for 25 years means actress Sue Cleaver loves her character as much as Corrie fans do.

Despite leaving the cobbles in the next few weeks, Sue, 61, wants nothing but the best for Street Cars' switchboard operator Eileen. So, when soap bosses asked if she wanted a happy ending for the mum of twins Jason and Todd, the answer was a resounding yes.

But they didn't know she had been considering a new life chapter for four years and had made plans for her character's departure. Sue tells The Mirror: "There was always the risk that they might have killed me off, but they said 'Eileen's a big part of the show.

"Basically, the journey Eileen is taking is pretty much what I'm choosing to do.

"It's new adventures. Just because you're a certain age doesn't mean you have to stop, that your chances in life are finished, that you're stuck and that you're heading to your ageing days.

Last year Sue contacted former Coronation Street star Ryan Thomas, who spent 16 years playing her screen son Jason.

Ryan left the show in 2016 and in 2021 announced his retirement from acting. But the two stayed good friends and he agreed to come back after a personal plea from Sue.

"He had no intention of coming back into Corrie, but last April I said 'look Ryan, I need you to do me a favour. I've not told work yet, but I'm going to leave and I'd really like you to come back and take me out.

"And bless him, he said: 'well I can't refuse that can I?'