Copyright dailystar
A Coronation Street legend’s payslip for her work on the soap has been revealed. Eileen Derbyshire played Emily Bishop on the ITV soap, making her debut way back in 1961. As a beloved Weatherfield resident, Emily became a hit with fans and a staple on the soap. What’s more, Eileen didn't leave until 2016 - making her one of the longest-serving stars of a UK soap. Only Bill Roache has been on the show longer than her, playing Ken Barlow since the first episode in 1960. Emily's exit was explained as a trip to Peru to spend time with a relative. It was then revealed that Emily is living in Edinburgh and in 2019, fans were thrilled when she popped up in an episode of the ITV soap. Emily appeared as her close pal Ken Barlow celebrated his 80th birthday in the Rovers Return surrounded by his friends and family. She wasn't there to celebrate with him in person but had recorded a video message for her old friend. Since then, Emily hasn’t been mentioned, but Eileen’s son, Oliver has regularly kept fans updated on how his mum is doing. Earlier this year, the sports journalist revealed she is “doing ok” but has a “few issues”. Over the past few months Oliver has also been sharing on social media several artefacts from his mum’s Coronation Street archive, including props and press clippings. And this week, he delighted fans again when he shared a photo of Eileen’s first pay slip for her work on Coronation Street. On the pay slip, it appears to show that Eileen was paid just over £39 for a stint in 1961. Soap fans were quick to react to Oliver’s photo. One person said: “Wow that’s cracker pal,what a great keepsake.” Another chimed in: “Not bad that for back then. A third penned: “That’s probably around £1000 in today money, not too shabby!” Meanwhile earlier this year, Oliver posted a series of images on Instagram celebrating his mother's illustrious career. One image featured a black-and-white snapshot of Eileen standing alongside her peers outside the iconic Rovers Return. The nostalgic photo included Coronation Street legends Pat Phoenix, Doris Speed, and Betty Driver, who were famous for their roles as Elsie Tanner, Annie Walker, and Betty Williams respectively. Captioning the framed photograph, which signalled the beginning of his memory-sharing posts, Oliver wrote: "Back at my mum's place. Found this packed away. Halcyon days of Coronation Street." Coronation Street airs Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX
