Former Casualty star Amanda Mealing has opened up over her directing stint on ITV soap Coronation Street.

In an interview with the Express, the actor joked that working on Corrie was "chaos", particularly when the Queen made an appearance to the set in July of this year, to mark the show's 60th anniversary.

She said: "Having the Queen turn up in the middle of your shoot is a first. Her Majesty turned up one morning so I had to vacate the street and then I found it absolutely impossible to get anyone to focus in the afternoon."

amanda mealing as connie beauchamp in casualty
Alistair Heap//BBC

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"So I blame the Queen for not getting my shot list finished that day. So she owes me one," Mealing quipped.

Her work at Corrie came after leaving the BBC One show Casualty back in April, with her character Connie Beauchamp walking away with her daughter Grace, wanting to prioritise her instead of focusing on work all the time.

At the time, Mealing told Digital Spy that she was taking an extended break from the show: "I was tired and really needed to rest. I have't had a proper break in years and when I've taken time out of the show before, I've been directing and doing other things."

holby city amanda mealing
BBC

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However, the door is definitely open for Connie's return: "We've agreed to talk in six months so we'll see how it goes. I'm busy directing other things at the moment."

Apart from briefly directing Corrie, Mealing said earlier this year that she was finishing a film that was started in the first lockdown, as well as "developing and getting the final finance to direct a feature film" and may "also be directing a thriller".

She also wanted to take the time to delve into some theatre, hoping that they would all reopen following multiple lockdowns, alongside continuing her campaign work for the charity WaterAid.

Casualty airs on Saturdays on BBC One.

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