Southport is warmly welcoming Coronation Street star Liz Dawn as she prepares for her new role as landlady in the town.

Liz, who played Vera Duckworth in the soap, is taking over as manager of The Falstaff with her husband Don.

The pub is to be rebranded as the Rovers Return as part of a franchise deal agreed with ITV. Liz’s fictional son Terry, played by Nigel Pivaro is to open a similar pub in Blackpool.

Liz will be joined at the Falstaff by friends Jack Diamond and Marie Ashton, formerly of the band Roly Polys, who have lived in the town for many years.

The soap veteran, who recently ended her 34-year run in the show as the wife of Jack, played by Bill Tarmey, told The Champion: “I’m really enjoying retirement, but it’s amazing how many people come up and say ‘you’re dead aren’t you?’”

“But it’ll be nice to get behind the bar again. This time, though, we’ll be serving real ale. On the Street it was low-strength lager.”

Liz, who was at the Falstaff to iron out the final details with current  manager Adrian Davies before taking up the job in August, also gave her backing to the campaign for real chips with real ale and went behind the bar to pull pints for the delighted locals.

And there’ll be none of those dodgy bottles of Skoe or Stellberg lager that they drink on EastEnders either.

“I think lager is bad news and so it’ll be banned, but we will be doing special offers on black Sambuca.”

The Southport Drinker is sorry to note that The Queen Vic has stopped serving real ale. If you wondered why everyone is so spiteful and aggressive with each other in Walford, you know now it is because life-giving real ale has disappeared.

They should come up to Weatherfield, where the Rover’s Return still stocks cask. Newton & Ridley is the favoured beer, although the pub is now a free house and guest ales are appearing.

At the Woolpack in Emmerdale, there’s an ever-changing selection of guest ales. Thanks to Maeib, we also know now that The Jockey in Shameless has an interesting selection of brews.

So why has the Queen Vic turned its back on Churchill’s cask? Camra should run a campaign to bring it back.

In the meantime, boycott EastEnders and only watch Coronation Street.

The Queen is not amused

UPDATE: after two-weeks absence, there are bar clips at the Queen Vic again, although no one is drinking pints. How do I know this when I am boycotting EastEnders? Because I’m psychic.