Royle Family star Sue Johnston is to play Stella Price's mum Gloria in Coronation Street, producers have said.
Gloria will arrive unannounced in Weatherfield in early summer from Spain, where she has run a bar.
Producer Phil Collinson said: "I'm delighted to be welcoming Sue Johnston... she is a national treasure and a stunning actress."
Johnston, who played Sheila Grant in Brookside, begins filming this month and will appear on screen from June.
Collinson added that Johnston's new Coronation Street character would take up the running of the Rovers Return pub with Stella, played by former EastEnders star Michelle Collins.
Gloria will initially tell her daughter she is only staying for a brief period but it soon becomes clear she is in Weatherfield for a longer stay.
Johnston's character will also make a beeline for Rita Sullivan's fiance Dennis and Audrey Roberts's partner Lewis.
The actress's other TV credits include comedy Sugartown, Waking the Dead, Jam and Jerusalem and an adaptation of The Turn of the Screw.
She also starred in the 1996 film Brassed Off opposite the late Pete Postlethwaite, Ewan McGregor and Tara Fitzgerald.
Johnston collected an OBE from the Queen in 2009.
Last week, Coronation Street announced another new arrival this summer - the brother of factory owner Carla Connor.
Auditions for the part are now taking place.
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