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Coronation Street’s Lorna Laidlaw loves mystery around on-screen daughter

Lorna Laidlaw loves the mystery surrounding her absent on-screen family member Diana Bailey.
The ‘Coronation Street’ star – who plays Aggie Bailey on the soap – was introduced last year alongside her husband Edison (Trevor Michael Georges) and sons Michael (Ryan Russell) and James (Nathan Graham), but Diana is yet to be seen on the cobbles, despite being mentioned in the casting announcement.
Speaking to Digital Spy, Lorna said: "We can’t say anything, but I think it’s exciting. I love the fact that they’re talking about this girl in the episodes and they keep bigging her up.
"I keep thinking, ‘What if she comes back as a tramp?!’ You can create anything. I love that they keep giving this girl these layers."
And while some viewers are calling out for Diana to finally make an appearance, the 57-year-old actress is hoping bosses will hold it off for as long as possible.
She added: "We have no certainty about any of it. The longer we can hold off on seeing this girl, is a joy.
"Audiences will have painted her a certain way in their minds, dressed her in a certain way, but then we can go anywhere we want with her.
"She’s a ghost character and there’s a table place setting for her. I think it’s interesting because we could bring her back as anything."
Producer Iain MacLeod previously teased Diana’s eventual arrival, and explained he was hoping to build up some anticipation for the big reveal.
Speaking in April last year, he said: "We’ve not cast her yet – she will be an off-screen presence a bit like Brenda from Streetcars – and will be a source of comedy friction around the dinner table.
"It’ll be like, ‘Aw on WhatsApp, your sister has just sent a picture of her new convertible!’ So, hopefully there’ll be some anticipation of the kind of character she is before she arrives."