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Julia Goulding wants Sarah Lancashire return for Coronation Street’s 60th birthday

Julia Goulding would love Sarah Lancashire and Julie Goodyear to return to ‘Coronation Street’ for the show’s 60th birthday.

The Shona Platt actress is keen to share a set with former soap stars Sarah, who played Raquel Watts, and Julie, who starred as legendary landlady Bet Lynch, when the ITV show celebrates its milestone in December.

She said: "Raquel would be my dream comeback.

"Raquel was a wonderful character. I like the strong matriarchs of the show.

"I’d love Bet Lynch back, and in an ideal world, Elsie Tanner too, but that can’t happen."

Pat Phoenix, who played Elsie, sadly passed away in 1986, so she will not be able to return.

And Julia doesn’t even know if she will be in the soap’s big 60th anniversary storyline.

Speaking to Inside Soap magazine, she added: "I don’t know. I hope I am, but I’d be equally happy watching it."

However, Julia’s dreams of nearly rubbing shoulders, from a two-metre distance, with Sarah and Julie in Weatherfield look to have already been dashed.

Last week, ‘Corrie’ boss Iain MacLeod ruled out the possibility of legendary characters re-joining the soap for this year’s 60th anniversary, admitting it would’ve felt like a "cheap trick" to bring back several stars just for the show’s birthday.

He said: "Having a revolving door of former cast coming in to do cameos just for kind of a brief moment of an audience going, ‘Oh wow it’s them,’ would have felt a bit like a cheap trick."

But the likes of Bill Roache (Ken Barlow), Sue Nicholls (Audrey Roberts) and Barbara Knox (Rita Sullivan) will be a part of the 60th anniversary episodes.

He added: "We have got an incredible bunch of legends that are already in the show."