Aidan and Eva on a Coronation Street background
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Corrie’s Catherine Tyldesley and Shayne Ward reunite in ‘The Good Ship Murder’

Their rocky romance had a tragic ending

Eva Price and Aidan Connor in Coronation Street, AKA actors Catherine Tyldesley and Shayne Ward had a tumultuous romance in the show!

And now they have been reunited in a new Channel 5 drama called The Good Ship Murder, which starts this Friday, October 13.

It’s clear the pair have great on-screen chemistry. So what was the story with their Corrie alter egos?

Eva Price, as played by Catherine Tyldesley, is on the phone to Toyah when there's a knock on the door. She's shocked to see Aidan Connor, as played by Shayne Ward.
Aidan and Eva’s romance had a heartbreaking ending (Credit: ITV/Shutterstock)

Who was Eva Price?

Eva was the younger half-sister of Leanne Battersby. Her mum, Stella Price (played by EastEnders star Michelle Collins) arrived in Weatherfield in 2011.

Eva had a few disastrous romances with Jason Grimshaw (who also had an affair with Stella!) as well as with Nick Tilsley and Rob Donovan.

But it was Aidan Connor who she fell hard for.

Eva Price catches boyfriend Aidan in his underwear!
Eva almost caught Aidan and Maria together (Credit: ITV/Shutterstock)

Sleazy affair!

The pair seemed great together at first, but Aidan was soon having an affair with Maria Connor.

Eva was oblivious to the pair’s steamy illicit romance, until she returned home from a trip to France early and almost caught them in the act!

Aidan managed to cover his tracks but just a little while later, he accidentally left his tablet connected to the television.

Eva was at their flat with Leanne at the time, taking a pregnancy test! So she was extra shocked when she read a message from Maria to Aidan which flashed up on the screen for Eva to read!

Such humiliation.

Eva, though, didn’t confront the cheating pair.  Though she wasn’t pregnant, she told Aidan she was, intent on getting her revenge.

Maria confronted Eva on her wedding day
Maria stormed into Eva and Aidan’s wedding! (Credit: ITV/Shutterstock)

Wedding revenge!

The revenge plan was perfectly worked out. Eva proposed to Aidan and he accepted! Then she adopted a guilty Maria as her best friend, and made her head bridesmaid.

Meanwhile, Eva and Adam Barlow – who was smitten with the blonde barmaid – worked together to take the factory from Aidan as soon as the ink was dry on the wedding certificate.

But at Eva’s hen night, Maria got covered in chocolate milk and when she was cleaning up, she accidentally came across Eva’s scan pictures and twigged she’d downloaded it from the internet!

With the cat out of the bag, Maria planned a revenge of her own. At the wedding she put copies of the picture under everyone’s seat, stormed in, and exposed all the lies. She and Eva even had a very soapy fight in a fountain at the wedding venue!

Eva tried to contact Adam to get him to stop the plan to take the factory but it was too late. And any hope of her and Aidan getting back together fell apart when he found out she was involved in the factory seizure.

But that wasn’t the end!

Aidan took his own life (Credit: ITV/Shutterstock)

Tragic twist

Eva found out she really was pregnant with Aidan’s baby. But this time she hid her pregnancy from everyone, not wanting Aidan to know. She arranged to give her baby to Toyah Battersby, whose surrogate had miscarried and the pair plotted in secret as Toyah’s partner Peter Barlow didn’t know the truth about the surrogate.

Though Eva almost changed her mind about giving her baby to Toyah, she agreed after she told Aidan she was pregnant and he didn’t believe her.

Eva gave birth with Toyah by her side in a cottage she’d rented. Toyah and Peter named the tot Susie.

After the baby was born, Aidan came to visit Eva at the cottage unexpectedly.

The pair shared a lovely evening, dancing to a special song. Aidan, who thought Eva was moving abroad, said he wanted to say goodbye and the pair said they loved one another.

As it turned out, though, Aidan was suffering with depression, and that night after he went home, he took his own life.

Eva Price in Coronation Street
Eva Price was played by Catherine Tyldesley in Coronation Street (Credit: ITV/Shutterstock)

Eva came back to the street wanting to get back with Aidan, only to find out he had passed away. Not surprisingly, she was devastated – along with Aidan’s family, of course – and after a bit of wrestling over baby Susie, she eventually took her baby girl and went to live in France with her mum and grandmother, Gloria.

What’s next?

Since leaving Corrie, X-Factor winner Shayne has been busy working on new music and acting. He also has two children with former Hollyoaks star Sophie Austin.

Catherine Tyldesley has been super busy, too. She’s starred in dramas including Scarborough, 15 Days, and McDonald and Dobbs. And she competed in Strictly Come Dancing.

She’s also got two kids, with her husband Tom Pitfield.

Now Shayne and Catherine are reunited in The Good Ship Murder. Shayne plays former detective turned cruise ship singer, Jack Grayling, who investigates a crime with the help of first officer Kate Woods, played by Catherine.

We can’t wait to see it!

Read more: Coronation Street who’s leaving in 2023?

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Coronation Street usually airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV.

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Kerry Barrett
Freelance Soap Writer