Coronation Street star announces she's engaged - after proposing to boyfriend herself

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Coronation Street royalty Maureen Lipman has revealed she is engaged - after getting down on one knee and proposing to her partner David Turner on a long train journey. The Evelyn Plummer actress said she slid between the table that separated the pair and asked for his hand in marriage, explaining: "To my surprise and slight panic, he gave it.”

The 78-year-old shared the happy news that she is going to get married in a Spectator article where she spoke about the comical moment and the trips they made afterwards to tell their children. She wrote: "I had been rather against the ‘M’ word, but on a train coming back from Edinburgh he mentioned that it was the minor festival of Tu B’Av – a day when a Jewish woman can ask a man to marry her."

Maureen Lipman and David Turner
Maureen Lipman and David Turner are engaged after she proposed -Credit:REX/Shutterstock

She continued: "Unable to resist the gag, I slid under the table separating us on to one knee and asked him for his hand. To my surprise and slight panic, he gave it."

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Maureen said they delivered the news to their children on 8 September which was her late husband Jack Rosenthal's birthday, going first to their children and then David's. "All reactions were warm, and all were individual," she explained in the article.

The actress and comedian first spoke about her romance with business consultant David in 2023, when she said she was bringing a "gentleman friend" to that year's National Television Awards.

She said at the time: "It's a gift for all concerned. It's a gift and he's been very nice. I've met some nice men in my life, some really interesting men, and we will see where it goes." The star later described him at at event as "my significant other".

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Maureen was with acclaimed TV scriptwriter Jack for 30 years until his death in 2004. She was then with Italian businessman Guido Castro for 13 years before he died in 2021.

The star has played Eveylyn, Tyrone Dobbs' gran, in Coronation Street since 2018 and after six years in the role is currently on a break from the soap to appear in panto at Richmond Theatre.

She will return when the panto ends in January next year with a Corrie spokesperson explaining: "“Dame Maureen is taking a sabbatical from Coronation Street towards the end of the year. We look forward to seeing her back on the cobbles in 2025."

Evelyn Plummer in Coronation Street
Coronation Street viewers known Mauren best as Evelyn Plummer