Coronation Street legend Barbara Knox has reminisced on her decades-long friendship with former co-star Thelma Barlow.

Fans of the ITV soap will remember the pair starred as the dynamic duo Rita Tanner (Barbara) and Mavis Wilton (Thelma) for over two decades.

While Barbara, 91, continues to appear on the soap, Thelma, 96, left the cobbles in 1997 after a solid 26-year run.

In a new interview, Barbara reflected on some of her favourite characters she crossed paths with while working on the show.

She explained how she worked with Thelma for 25 years and that they would ‘help each other through it.’

Barbara told The Mirror: ‘If there was a sale on somewhere in one of the big places in Manchester there used to be a big tub outside with scarves in and we got banned.

Coronation Street legend Barbara Knox has reminisced on her decades-long friendship with former co-star Thelma Barlow

Fans of the ITV soap will remember the pair starred as dynamic duo Rita Tanner (Barbara) and Mavis Wilton (Thelma) for over two decades together (pictured in 1994)

‘We were in there rummaging, ‘is this any good to you?’

‘There is not many people who have been banned for rummaging is there! I miss her.’

It comes after Barbara reportedly ‘signed a one-year deal’ to continue in her iconic soap role.

The actress, who has played Rita Tanner on the soap since 1972, is rumoured to have secured her spot throughout 2026 – with bosses eager to keep her amid the show’s 65th anniversary.

In April, a source told The Mirror: ‘Barbara secured her future on Coronation Street earlier this year and both her and show bosses are delighted fans will continue to see her on screen.

‘She still loves the show and everyone involved with it – and viewers want to see Rita at the Rovers and in the Kabin for years to come. It’s a win-win situation.’

Further insights reveal the actress – who is the longest-serving cast member – will be ‘central to the celebrations’.

Daily Mail contacted ITV representatives for a comment at the time.

It comes after it was reported that Barbara has reportedly ‘signed a one-year deal’ to continue in her iconic soap role (pictured in 2017)

The acting legend who has played Rita Tanner on the soap since 1972, is rumoured to have secured her spot throughout 2026 – with bosses eager to keep her amid the show’s 65th anniversary (pictured in 2022)

The soap veteran first joined the ITV series in 1964 making an initial appearance and became a regular in 1972.

Barbara is the second-longest-serving cast member in Coronation Street behind William Roache, 92, who plays Ken Barlow.

It is thought Barbara commands a healthy £200,000 per year for her role as Rita.

The soap queen met the real Queen Elizabeth – who passed away in 2022 aged 96 – when she visited the Corrie set in 2021.

The monarch was greeted by soap stalwarts Barbara, William Roache, Sue Nicholls (Audrey Roberts) and Helen Worth (Gail Platt) outside the Rovers Return.

She looked delighted to meet the Corrie quartet, and during her cobbles visit – to celebrate the show’s 60th anniversary – she learned how the soap adapted its filming process amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking on Lorraine, she said: ‘We were still operating under COVID restrictions so we were all at two metres.

‘It was phenomenal and she had the sparkliest, smiley eyes you’ve ever seen and I chatted to her about take-away hotpot.

‘She was so engaged and for someone who’s met everybody and does three or four engagements in a day she listened to everybody and you could see she was taking it all in.’We were all in the Rovers practising our curtsy.’