Dame Joanna Lumley is one of the UK's best loved stars, with her being known for her sense of humour.
She has been a household name for decades, having bagged her breakthrough role as Purdey in The New Avengers, back in 1976. Since then, she has starred in a long string of TV shows and films, as well as being a model and later an activist.
But what many fans may not know is that one of her first ever roles was in Coronation Street.
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Dame Joanna, now 76, played Ken Barlow's love interest Elaine Perkins, arriving in the cobbles back in July 1973. While she only starred in eight episodes, that was long enough for an intense romance to develop, with the pair almost getting married.
Bill Roache, who still plays Ken on the long-running ITV soap, has refused to reveal whether their on-screen romance developed into anything in real life, the Mirror reports.
Elaine, who was the daughter of the school headmaster, bonded with Ken at a teaching function before going on several dates. Their relationship blossomed but Ken grew jealous of all the other men in her life, including her politician boyfriend, so confessed he was in love with her.
After gently trying to reject Ken, she flipped when he called her "permissive" with other men and furiously branded him a "still provincial twit".
She turned down Ken's marriage proposal, and hasn't been seen in Weatherfield since.
Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV and ITVX
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