Coronation Street star Dame Maureen Lipman is one of the most celebrated British actresses. She recently revealed her engagement at the age of 78, marking a new chapter in her love life. Maureen has had a remarkable career and is widely loved for her work, particularly for her role as the no-nonsense Evelyn Plummer on the long-running ITV soap Coronation Street.
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However, her personal life has been touched by loss, as she previously lost two long-term partners—her husband Jack Rosenthal in 2004 and her partner Guido Castro in 2021. Despite these hardships, Maureen found companionship again with businessman David Turner.
Dame Maureen Lipman engaged at the age of 78
In a candid revelation, Maureen shared that she proposed to David spontaneously on a train. The actress explained that it was intended as a ‘gag.’ However, after some consideration, the couple decided to make it official, reports Mirror.
Maureen, who had previously expressed reservations about remarrying, said that the proposal came after a glitzy event she attended alongside Queen Camilla - for her son Tom Parker-Bowles' latest cooking book. The actress wrote in The Spectator:
In truth, I had been rather against the ‘M’ word, but on a train coming back from Edinburgh, he mentioned that it was the minor festival of Tu B’Av – a day when a Jewish woman can ask a man to marry her.
Unable to resist the gag, I slid under the table separating us onto one knee and asked him for his hand. To my surprise and slight panic, he gave it.
The bride-to-be decided to reveal the news to her family on 8 September - the birthday of her first love and husband the late Jack. She said:
Later that night my partner David and I decided to tell our children that, with a combined age of 156, we are going to get married.
Dame Maureen Lipman has lost two partners in her life
Maureen has experienced the loss of two significant partners in her life. Her first husband, acclaimed playwright Jack Rosenthal, passed away in 2004 aged 72 after a long battle with cancer. Rosenthal was a highly respected figure in British theatre and television, known for works like Bar Mitzvah Boy and The Knowledge.
The couple had been married for over 30 years and shared two children, Amy and Adam Rosenthal, both of whom followed in their father's footsteps as writers. In a report published by The Guardian in 2004, the publication reported how Rosenthal’s death deeply affected Maureen. She said:
We were twin souls. He was a man to whom good came very easily. We were a good couple...It's rare in this profession or any other. We were very lucky to have each other.
He was a New Man in the days when there were no New Men. I appeared to be the woman who had everything. He handed me it.
After Rosenthal’s passing, Maureen found companionship in 2008 with Guido Castro, a retired computer expert. The two enjoyed a 13-year relationship before Guido's death in 2021 at the age of 84. While Guido's death was initially attributed to Covid-19, Maureen later clarified that the virus wasn’t the direct cause but had ‘weakened him terribly,’ reports The Guardian.
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Sources used
Mirror: Coronation Street's Dame Maureen Lipman, 78, ENGAGED 20 years after death of husband
The Guardian: Television scriptwriter Jack Rosenthal dies at 72
The Guardian: Maureen Lipman’s partner Guido Castro dies after contracting Covid
