Bet Lynch was a Street fixture for 25 years

A spokeswoman for the ITV1 soap said: "Bet is hugely popular with the fans and we are delighted that Julie has agreed to return to the show."

Coronation Street is undergoing an overhaul under the guidance of new producers as it battles to regain ground lost to rival BBC One soap EastEnders.

Three actors have already been told their characters will be axed with reports of more familiar faces to leave and a return to simpler storylines.

Bosses have already signed up veteran comedian Roy Hudd to add more humour to the show.

'Dramatic'

Goodyear will arrive back in Weatherfield in the early summer, but exactly how she comes back is being kept a secret.

There are no plans to put her back behind the bar of the Rovers, but the spokeswoman for the show promised her return would be "dramatic".

"We are currently working on some fantastic storylines to write Bet back into the series and I am sure viewers will be excited to find out what has happened to her since we last saw her," she added.

Goodyear left the show in 1995 for a life in the sun in Tenerife, but returned for a series of late night episodes set in Brighton in 1999.