Coronation Street legends have funny mishap in Barbara Knox special
Coronation Street legends Barbara Knox and Malcolm Hebden had a hilarious mishap as ITV celebrated Knox's 90th birthday.
Knox has played Rita on the ITV soap for the last 51 years, and the broadcaster paid tribute to the legend in a special event, with the star going down memory lane in the company of Bradley Walsh.
One such segment saw Knox meeting with Malcolm Hebden, who played Norris Cole until he retired from acting in 2021. The pair enjoyed many amusing scenes at The Kabin and reminisced about their time on the show in a touching segment.
The dream team back together 💜#Barbara90 #Corrie pic.twitter.com/Injfuxz6Jx
— Coronation Street (@itvcorrie) October 13, 2023
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As they caught up, Hebden remarked that he missed the soap, and Knox reasoned that he should "come back" — seemingly without realising that Norris Cole had been killed off in late 2021.
Hebden, however, was more abreast of Corrie developments, quipping in response: "Come back as a corpse? I'm buried." Knox seemed surprised at the news before offering a plot idea: "Did we bury you? That's terrible. Come back as a ghost."
Hebden, who first played Norris in 1994, paid tribute to Knox in a pre-recorded segment played during the birthday event.
"Barbara was the glamorous one. Because of her experience in the theatre, she knew how to feed the line," he said.
"It was never competitive — more often than not, I was the one who got put down. But I didn't mind that, as that's how a partnership works. We had an awful lot of good laughs both on and off the set.
"I couldn't have worked with anybody better, it was joyous."
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Knox's meeting with Hebden followed an emotional reunion with Thelma Barlow, who played Rita's best friend Mavis Wilton until 1997. The on-screen friendship was matched by a closeness off-screen, with Barlow telling a heartfelt story from their final scene together.
"We both ended up crying and went to the coffee room to recover. The director said we needed to do the scene again, and we couldn't,” she recalled, before saying she was "fortunate" to have met and worked with Knox.
The special event also included a deep-dive on Rita's groundbreaking storyline with Alan Bradley (Mark Eden), which culminated with a classic moment on the Blackpool tram line, as well as numerous tributes from co-stars past and present.
Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.
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