Coronation Street legend Thelma Barlow, who played Mavis Wilton on the ITV soap, has opened up about her most challenging time on the cobbles

Coronation Street legend Thelma Barlow has revealed that her character Mavis Wilton's love triangle plot was amongst her most demanding periods on the beloved soap.

The 96-year-old actress brought Mavis to life from 1971 to 1997 on the ITV drama, clocking up an impressive 1,207 episodes.

During her guest spot on Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh today (Sunday, 19th October), Barlow reflected on her most memorable storylines from her time in Weatherfield.

Host Titchmarsh introduced the topic, saying: "Then came the romantic involvements.

"I'm going to mention two names here. I'm going to mention Derek and I'm going to mention Victor Pendlebury", reports the Mirror.

The mention of these characters sparked a passionate response from Barlow, who declared: "Oh! That was a difficult time for me."

During her stint on the cobbles, Mavis was chiefly linked romantically with Derek (portrayed by Peter Baldwin), with the pair tying the knot in 1988.

Yet their romance faced constant disruption from Victor (Christopher Coll), who harboured an unhealthy fixation with Mavis and repeatedly plotted to destroy her relationship with Derek.

In one memorable scene, Victor treats Mavis to a foot massage, which she relishes until an enraged Derek catches them.

Following the clip being shown to Love Your Weekend audiences, Titchmarsh quipped: "Caught red-handed by Derek!

"Peter Baldwin was a great double act, there was a great rapport between [you two]."

Fortunately, despite the taxing storylines, Barlow was already familiar with her longtime colleague. "We had worked together in the theatre," she reminisced.

"And that was lovely. When he was coming in, I knew I'd got a new man. Mavis had a lot of men in her life!

"And the director said, 'Come and meet your new lad. He's someone you used to live with'."

Barlow expressed surprise and added: "That takes the mind back! And it was Peter, we'd all shared a house together in Exmouth, my first job."

Titchmarsh also jogged Barlow's memory about living with Gail Platt legend Helen Worth, whom Barlow reveals she still catches up with from time to time.

Corrie icon recalls 'difficult time' on soap after more than a thousand episodes - Daily Star