Coronation Street legend Barbara Knox – who has played Rita Tanner for more than 50 years – renews contract just days before her 90th birthday
Coronation Street legend Barbara Knox – who has played Rita Tanner for more than 50 years – renews contract just days before her 90th birthday
Legendary Coronation Street star Barbara Knox has signed to continue her soap role just days before her 90th birthday.
The actress – who has played Rita Tanner continuously since 1972 after first appearing in 1964 – will remain on screen and has committed to working until 2024.
Barbara, who turns 90 on September 30, is the second oldest Corrie cast member after Ken Barlow actor Bill Roache, who is 91.
An insider said The sun: ‘Barbara is in Corrie’s DNA. She’s a true professional and executives were happy to see her put pen to paper to ensure she’s on screens next year.
‘Corrie is a nice, stable place to work with a supportive team, so it makes it easy to fit in with the family, have children and as the cast has grown older.
On board: Legendary Coronation Street star Barbara Knox has signed to continue her soap role just days before her 90th birthday
On screen: The actress – who has played Rita Tanner continuously since 1972 after first appearing in 1964 – remains on screen and has committed to working until 2024
“It was a no-brainer for Barbara to sign on the dotted line when the regular contract renewal came around this year.”
It is thought that Barbara earns a healthy £200,000 a year for her role as Rita.
It comes after it was announced that Barbara’s 90th birthday would be celebrated with a one-off ITV special.
She looks back on her life in a new documentary together with TV presenter Bradley Walsh.
Katie Rawcliffe, Head of Entertainment Commissioning at ITV, said: ‘It’s easy to mix up the words ‘legend’ and ‘icon’, but Barbara Knox truly embodies both terms.
“It’s a privilege to tell the story of one of British television’s most enduring stars as she celebrates a very special birthday.”
The documentary will be released on ITV1 and ITVX in October and will follow the cobblestone legend’s first steps into showbiz before her 1964 debut in Corrie.
She will also discuss some of her memorable storylines, such as the infamous 1989 tram crash, and revisit the site.
Special: It comes after it was announced that Barbara’s 90th birthday would be marked with a one-off ITV special (pictured in 1978)
Barbara will reflect on gaining an MBE in 2010, and the documentary will feature interviews with several of her current and former Coronation Street co-stars.
Additionally, Barbara will share never-before-seen photos from her childhood.
The soap queen met the real Queen Elizabeth – who died in 2022 at the age of 96 – when she visited the Corrie set in 2021.
The monarch was greeted outside the Rovers Return by soap fans Barbara, William Roache, Sue Nicholls (Audrey Roberts) and Helen Worth (Gail Platt).
She seemed delighted to meet the Corrie quartet, and during her cobbles visit – to celebrate the show’s 60th anniversary – she learned how the soap adapted its filming process amid the coronavirus pandemic.
She also chatted to Sally Ann Matthews (Jenny Connor) about hotpot during her visit to Manchester’s MediaCityUK in July 2021.
Speaking about Lorraine, she said: “We were still working under COVID restrictions so we were all sitting two meters apart.
‘It was phenomenal and she had the most sparkling, smiling eyes you’ve ever seen and I was chatting to her about the takeaway hotpot.
“She was so involved and for someone who met everyone and does three or four jobs in a day, she listened to everyone and you could tell she was taking everything in.”
“We were all in the Rovers practicing our bows.”