Stephanie Cole has revealed it was easy to get back into playing her Open All Hours character Mrs Featherstone because of the distinctive costume.

The classic BBC sitcom returned for a one-off special, Still Open All Hours, last year and is back again with a full six-part series from Boxing Day, with Stephanie reprising her old role as one of the shop’s regular customers.

Mrs Featherstone used to pursue shop owner Arkwright (Ronnie Barker), but now that David Jason’s character Granville has taken over, she has set her sights on him.

Still Open All Hours
(BBC)

Stephanie told What’s On TV of getting back into character from the 1980s series: “Well the clothes are all black including her hat, which is very like her original black hat.

“Black shoes, black stockings, black blouse, black skirt, black gloves, black coat and black handbag – she is the complete black widow. I don’t have to do anything. I put them on and there she is!”

Asked whether she liked to watch TV, Stephanie answered: “I do. It’s part of my job. I find it odd that some actors don’t. I like to know what’s going on so I’ll always give new things a go.

Stephanie Cole
(Fiona Hanson/PA)

“I like to see my fellow actors because more and more frequently these days I see scripts that aren’t as good as they might be being saved by some wonderful acting. So I do watch it and there’s quite a lot I enjoy and quite a lot I think is a load of old poo.”

But Stephanie had some disappointing news for fans of her Coronation Street role as Roy Cropper’s mum Sylvia.

She said: “I don’t have any plans to go back for the simple reason that I don’t actually like doing anything for very long. For instance, I did Doc Martin and Waiting For God for four years. I like to do different things.

Julie Hesmondhalgh Stephanie Cole
Stephanie as Sylvia with Julie Hesmondhalgh as Hayley in Coronation Street (Eamonn and James Clarke/EMPICS Entertainment)

“But I had a lovely time doing Corrie. I loved it. What could be better than having the beloved Robert Vaughn as my love interest, and working with the wonderful David Neilsen, and indeed everyone.

“It’s a wonderfully friendly atmosphere there. They’re all smashing and I made a lot of good friends there.”