Coronation Street icon quits cobbles after 25 years as she makes life changing decision
CORONATION Street’s Eileen Grimshaw has bid farewell to Weatherfield to embark on a new adventure.
Actress Sue Cleaver has played the feisty, but down to earth Eileen since 2000, but it has come time for her to say goodbye to the cobbles.
On Friday’s episode, Eileen makes the life-changing decision to head to Thailand with son Jason (Ryan Thomas) and invest in his bar there.
Eileen bids farewell in emotional scenes and after ending her relationship with undertaker George and admitting she only loved him as “dear friend.”
She also made the decision to make a fresh start in Thailand after being worn down by being suspected in her sister Julie’s tragic death.
In Friday’s episode, Eileen’s mind is turned to leaving the cobbles after hearing Theo’s impassioned speech to his daughter Millie.
Theo explains to his teenage daughter, that he can’t return to live with her mum, his ex, because “it didn’t feel right,” after realising he was attracted to men and wanted to see where is his relationship with Todd went.
George realised how Theo’s speech moved Eileen and went to confront her after she’d been at the police who had just cleared her of any wrongdoing in Julie’s death.
“What happens now?” she says to George after she tells him that she does not love him in a romantic sense.
George tells her: “You enjoy Thailand. I’m stopping here.”
Before finally leaving for good, Eileen stops by the Rovers Return for one last drink and is surprised with a big showing by her friends.
Steve and Tim have organised a special send off from the Street Cars drivers, complete with ribbons on the cars.
She had helped run the taxi service for many years.
“Never knowingly understated, lads,” Eileen tells the men with a smile.
“Won’t be the same without you,” Tim tells her.
Steve adds: “You know what, it’s only just hit me that this has been one of the most important relationships of my life,” promising he would come to visit her in Thailand.
Her son Todd assures her before she leaves: “You deserve this mum.”
Even George stops by for a farewell, giving Eileen a gift of a neck pillow for the long flight and the pair promise to stay in touch.
Eileen then gets into Steve’s cab with Jason and waves farewell to the drivers in the street who salute her and honk their horns as the cab drives off.
The Sun exclusively revealed in January that she had quit the show after 25 years on the Salford set to look for new acting opportunities.
“The door is still firmly open but as I reached my 60th year, I decided it was time to embrace change, look for new adventures and live fearlessly,” she explained.
Sue took a break from Corrie last year to star in Sister Act The Musical as Mother Superior and appeared in reality show I’m A Celebrity in 2022.
Last year, Sue released her memoir A Work In Progress and revealed she was embracing being in her 60s.