Former Coronation Street star Sue Cleaver has said she didn't see her next role coming as she joins the stage adaptation of Victoria Wood's Dinnerladies. The actress, famed for playing Eileen Grimshaw in the ITV soap, will take on the role of Jean, originally played by Anne Reid, in the 2027 tour.
A New Chapter After the Cobbles
Cleaver left Coronation Street after 25 years, with her final scenes airing in June 2025. Her character Eileen departed Weatherfield for Thailand after being offered the chance to invest in a bar with her son Jason Grimshaw, played by Ryan Thomas, who briefly returned to the cobbles for the storyline.
Since leaving the soap, Cleaver has appeared as a panellist on Loose Women and taken on more stage work. She is also a regular guest on BBC Radio Manchester.
Joining the Dinnerladies Tour
The new production is the first to be commissioned by Wood's estate since her death in 2016 at the age of 62. The tour also stars Les Dennis and EastEnders actress Karen Henthorn.
Cleaver, who played Big Glenda, the baked goods delivery woman, in the original sitcom, told OK Magazine: "I didn't see it coming, but it feels time for [Victoria Wood's] legacy to be celebrated. I just thought, there's no way I cannot be involved in this."
She also joked: "She'd be furious she's not directing. She was an absolute perfectionist, so she'd definitely be there, letting you know what was OK and what wasn't."
Reflecting on the Original Series
Cleaver recalled the intense experience of filming the original sitcom, which followed the catering staff in a Manchester manufacturing factory. She said: "We used to film at the BBC and rehearse at the Oval. We'd record it in front of a live audience on a Friday night, and on a Saturday, we'd come in at lunchtime, and Vic would have been up rewriting all night."
"She'd hand out the script with all these changes and you had a couple of hours to learn it before the live show in the evening. She didn't stop!"
Dinnerladies will open at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley on January 22 before a run at the Manchester Opera House and a national tour.
