Sian Reeves has kept Coronation Street viewers on the edge of their seats since rolling up as Charlie Wood, the deluded wife Tim Metcalfe didn’t know he had.

But viewers will have to wait to see how it all pans out for Tim, Sally and Charlie as she takes a break from the cobbles of Weatherfield to star in the brand new stage play adaptation of Helen Forrester’s By The Waters Of Liverpool which is coming to Malvern Theatres on April 14 and April 15.

Set in the 1930s, this is a play with echoes for today, exploring issues of class, status and poverty in a time of social uncertainty.

From ex-con, Hannah Temple in Hope Springs, to the psychotic Sally Spode in Emmerdale – and now Charlie Wood in Corrie, Sian seems right at home playing the vulnerable woman with issues; and her new role in By The Waters Of Liverpool is no exception.

Sian said: “I’ll be playing ‘Mother’, Celia Forrester, who is a wonderfully complex person.

“From money, status and class, before the great depression of the 1930s, to then losing everything and being dumped in a damp bug infested house with one cold tap, one toilet –and seven children to look after.

“I think she absolutely cannot shake herself out of the nightmare that is now her new life. She is stunned that her husband, who once held a senior position in the financial world, cannot find work and they have to grovel for handouts from the local parish. And to escape the confines of this smelly, claustrophobic house she leaves the day to day running of the family to her

11-year-old daughter, Helen.

“Helen actually said of her mother,‘ her bouts of temper bordered on insanity’. But really she is exhausted and so dreadfully depressed. It’s a great role to play.”

Sian is a Forrester fan. She said: “I have read about five of Helen’s books. Helen was a magnificently, clever woman.”

The 11-week national tour follows a hugely successful run at the Liverpool Empire Theatre in October 2018, when the new production was premiered to rave reviews.