Coronation Street star Catherine Tyldesley: 'Eva's all guns blazing' at wedding

Coronation Street star Catherine Tyldesley talks wedding day showdowns, scary stunts and reveals what her hubby Tom makes of Eva's bunny-boiler antics

Coronation Street star Catherine Tyldesley talks wedding day showdowns, scary stunts and reveals what her hubby Tom makes of Eva's bunny-boiler antics in an interview with TV Times.

What's the story?

She’s plotted, lied and duped her fiancé into thinking she’s pregnant! Ever since Eva discovered Aidan, the love of her life, was cheating on her with crimper Maria, the heartbroken knicker-stitcher has been on a secret mission to destroy her man. If Aidan was irked by his fiancée splashing his cash on bubble pink cars and designer clothes he’s got no idea what’s about to hit him.

This week Operation Payback culminates as a vengeful Eva gears up to expose Aidan and unleash her venom on their double wedding day. Will it go to plan?

Here Catherine Tyldesley talks to TV Times

TV Times: She started off fully fired up for revenge but has had a few wobbles along the way. As the wedding day approaches, what’s Eva’s state of mind?

Catherine Tyldesley: "She’s all guns blazing! When we shot the hen night scenes I felt so sorry for Maria because she takes the brunt in a massive way. The stuff that Eva comes up with is fantastic. You’re talking Mean Girls territory, with relish."

TVT: What’s it been like for you to show her conniving, bunny boiler side?

CT: "Heaven! I’ve absolutely loved it. When I first came into the show she was very feisty and catty, so to see that come back and prove she can kick ass when she needs to, is brilliant."

TVT: Do you think she still loves Aidan?

CT: "Yes, she absolutely loves him but she’s so angry. She’s been cheated on by every single boyfriend and her own dad walked out on her when she was three, so she’s already got trust issues. She finally thinks she’s found somebody, this is the one and then and he hurts her so badly."

TVT: Does Eva fancy Adam at all or is she just so into Aidan?

CT: "She thinks Adam’s an attractive bloke but that’s where it stops. She’s completely in love with Aidan. Adam tried to kiss her recently but she’s like, ‘Woah, let’s not complicate things."

TVT: What is the main goal for her?

CT: "It’s the wedding. It’s to get there and to expose Aidan’s true colours. The big thing about Eva is she never ever thinks about consequences. She just jumps straight in with whatever she wants to do and obviously a plan of this size has massive consequences."

TVT: But she’s blind-sided when Aidan confesses to his affair with Maria on the morning of the wedding. What happens and does she tell him she already knows?

CT: "No she doesn’t! He comes clean because he genuinely loves her. He gets to the morning of the wedding and tells her, ‘I love you so much, I cannot walk down the aisle with this in my heart, this is what I’ve done.’ After his confession he’s left wondering if Eva will even turn up for the wedding."

TVT: How many wedding dresses did you have for filming?

CT: 'Six identical ones. It’s so tight I actually thought I was going to snap a rib or lose an ovary. I chose it myself, I pick all of Eva’s clothes. I said to the lady who owns the shop, ‘She wants to be a princess’, and it was the first one she pulled out. I was filming in it for six days and had to take it off for lunch, but then I didn’t want to eat too much because I knew I had to get it back on!'

TVT: Maria, who’s starting to suspect Eva, bursts into the ceremony. Can you tease what happens?

CT: 'It’s epic. Six dresses and a stunt double give you a hint! Although we didn’t actually use the stunt double. Stupidly I did my own stunt! Maria's not going to know what's hit her. I saw Samia's (who plays Maria) face after filming and I was like, "I am so sorry". It's fantastic but harsh. I think viewers will be gobsmacked!'

TVT: Eva has lied about being pregnant. Is she terrified of what Aidan will do when he discovers there’s no baby?

CT: "Again she’s not thinking about consequences. She thinking, ‘I’ll jump off that bridge when I get to it.’ She’s almost convinced herself she IS pregnant."

TVT: It’s not just Aidan she’s gunning for is it?

CT: "When she finds out that his dad Johnny knew about the affair she thinks, ‘Well if Johnny knew, they all knew’, so she wants revenge on the whole family. That’s what leads her to arrange the double wedding. She’s like, ‘I’m not just gonna wreck Aidan’s day, everyone’s gonna get it!’'

TVT: What do you and Shayne Ward (who plays Aidan) do to relieve the tension in between filming emotional scenes?

CT: "We recreate movie scenes! I think my favourite one we’ve done is Men in Black. I cried laughing that day. Shayne’s hilarious and we have an absolute scream. People are constantly going, ‘Oh my god, they’re off’. And we sing all the time. We must be really annoying! Shane’s like my gay straight best friend. He’ll be thrilled with that comment!"

TVT: Does your husband Tom (Pitfield) watch Corrie?

CT: "Yes and he often helps me learn my lines so when it’s on screen he’s like ‘Oh, I remember this!’ I sent a picture of me in Eva’s wedding dress and he was like, ‘You look great!’ but he’s slightly scared of psycho Eva. He’ll see a glint and say, ‘I’ve seen that look before!’."

TVT: And Tom’s become a regular on TV giving out exercise and nutrition advice on ITV’s Eat, Shop, Save. How do you feel about that?

CT: "I’m so chuffed for him because he’s so knowledgeable. He’s loved doing it so touch wood there’ll be another series. But he hates watching himself on TV. He just won’t do it! All his friends are like, ‘You’ll be going in the jungle next!’, and he’s like ‘Shut up.’"

TVT: And the pair of you have set up a special Instagram and twitter account, The Pitfields, helping to motivate families into a healthy lifestyle.

CT: "That came about purely because I was getting a lot of fan mail and twitter DMs from new mums in particular. Some of them were really heart breaking with a lot of people just hating their bodies and Tom was the same with a lot of clients asking about specific things so we said ‘Do you know what, we’re both so passionate about it’ which is why we started The Pitfields."

TVT: You’ve said Corrie is like a second home to you. Could you imagine Eva growing old on the cobbles?

CT: "I would love to see her, eighty odd, boobs up here, bleached blonde hair, wreaking havoc. I’d like think there’ll always be a place for me at Corrie because I will never fall out of love with this place. I’m a massive, massive fan."

TVT: Eva obviously gets a kick out of revenge – are you someone who like revenge?

CT: "No! I hate confrontation. A taxi driver lost it with me one day and I just went ‘Alright, thankyou, bye!’ It’s very rare that I’ll have an argument with anybody. I like channeling it through Eva though. It’s like therapy."