'Coronation Street' legend Barbara Knox's 90th birthday will be marked with a one-off ITV special.
ITV are to celebrate Barbara Knox's 90th birthday with a one-off TV special
The 89-year-old star - who turns 90 in September - has played Rita Tanner continuously since 1972, following an initial appearance in 1964, and she will join TV presenter Bradley Walsh to look back at her life in a new documentary.
Katie Rawcliffe, Head of Entertainment Commissioning at ITV, said: "It’s easy to throw the words ‘legend’ and ‘icon’ around, but Barbara Knox really does embody both of those 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 arrive on ITV1 and ITVX later this year, and it will trace the cobbles legend's first footsteps into showbiz before her 1964 debut in 'Corrie'.
She will also discuss some of her memorable storylines, such as the infamous Tram accident in 1989, and she will revisit the site.
Barbara will reflect on being awarded an MBE in 2010, and the documentary will feature interviews with several of her current and former 'Coronation Street' co-stars.
What's more, Barbara will share never seen before photos from her childhood.
The soap queen met the real Queen Elizabeth - who passed away in 2022 aged 96 - when she visited the 'Corrie' set in 2021.
The monarch was greeted by soap stalwarts Barbara, William Roache - who plays Ken Barlow, the soap's longest-serving character - Sue Nicholls (Audrey Roberts) and Helen Worth (Gail Platt) outside the Rovers Return.
She looked 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 on 'Lorraine', she said: "We were still operating under COVID restrictions so we were all at two metres.
"It was phenomenal and she had the sparkliest, smiley eyes you've ever seen and I chatted to her about take-away hotpot.
"She was so engaged and for someone who's met everybody and does three or four engagements in a day she listened to everybody and you could see she was taking it all in.
"We were all in the Rovers practising our curtsy."
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