Coronation Street legend Eileen Derbyshire has met with a super fan of the soap grieving the loss of his partner Martyn Hett who was killed in the Manchester bombings.
Eileen, best known for paying Emily Bishop, on the soap had dinner with Russell Hayward on what would have been his late partner’s 31st birthday.
A dream came true for me on Saturday. On @martynhett’s birthday, in his memory, I was lucky enough to spend the evening having dinner with Eileen Derbyshire (who played Emily Bishop) and her son, @OllieHolt22. A start to a wonderful friendship. 🌟 I still can’t quite believe it! pic.twitter.com/fht6HRi4mF
— 🥃Russell (@RussellHayward) December 17, 2018
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The actress, who has always shunned interviews and red carpet appearances, reached out to Russell when his long-term partner was among 22 people tragically killed at the Ariana Grande concert in May 2017.
Taking to Twitter to share his joy at meeting Eileen and her son Oliver Holt, who accompanied her to the dinner, Russell shared a picture of the actress declaring the meeting “a dream come true”.
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Alongside the happy picture he wrote: “A dream came true for me on Saturday. On @martynhett’s birthday, in his memory, I was lucky enough to spend the evening having dinner with Eileen Derbyshire (who played Emily Bishop) and her son @OllieHolt22. A start to a wonderful friendship.”
A source told The Sun: “For decades, Eileen has just got on with her job of being Emily Bishop. She doesn’t go in for the cult of celebrity and never has.
“But she is a deeply caring person and clearly understood how much reaching out to Russell meant to him.”
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Fans were thrilled to see Eileen meeting Russell, with one writing: “Oh this is wonderful Russell. Martyn would have been in his element. Great to see Eileen looking so good too.”
While another added: “This is amazing. I read that she’s a private person and has made virtually no appearance connected with Corrie for the entire time she’s been in it, including interviews. It must have been surreal to see her out of character.”
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Martyn, who was just 29 when he lost his life, was a life-long Coronation Street fan and had a tattoo of the character Deirdre Barlow on his leg. The couple had also named their cat Emily after Eileen’s character.
Last year on the anniversary of his death Russell shared a letter to Martyn, which left his followers heartbroken.
He wrote: “I hope you’re proud of us all over this past year. We’ve done some wonderful things in your memory,
“I miss you more and more each day. I miss dissecting each storyline in Corrie with you. I miss your laugh, your smile, your kindness.”
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