Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

‘It was a magic moment’: Banchory Coronation Street fan’s birthday surprise from favourite soap actor

Iris Garden, 78, got the shock of her life when she spotted Antony Cotton dining in Braemar.

Iris was delighted to meet TV star Antony Cotton, granddaughter Rebecca and her friend Natajsa also joined in the opportunity.
Iris was delighted to meet TV star Antony Cotton, granddaughter Rebecca and her friend Natajsa also joined in the opportunity.

An Aberdeenshire grandmother – and huge Coronation Street fan – received the biggest birthday surprise of her life when she bumped into her favourite soap star in Braemar.

Iris Garden was celebrating turning 78 with her family on Saturday at Farqurharson’s Bar and Kitchen, when her daughter, Angela, spotted Corrie stalwart Antony Cotton dining just yards away.

His long-running character Sean Tully is best known for pulling pints in the Rovers Return.

The family thoroughly enjoyed their day out. Pictured from left to right are friends of the family Natajsa and Katy alongside Rebecca, Iris, Sophie, Brooke and Angela Garden.

The mother and daughter from Banchory say they “never miss an episode” and that Tully is their favourite character.

Iris has endured “a tough year” due to her health, so was over the moon when Antony agreed to pop over to say hello.

He wished her and her granddaughter, Rebecca – who was celebrating turning 21 – a happy birthday, as well as posing for photographs and having a quick chat.

Iris has “not stopped talking about the encounter” and Angela, 45, said she wants to thank Antony for his kindness.

Speaking to The Press and Journal, she said: “I wanted to say thank for him popping over to say happy birthday to us.

“The whole thing just made my mum’s day.

“I really hope he liked Braemar and his day that he had up here – it such a stunning part of the country.”

It was a double birthday at Farquharson’s on Saturday.

TV soap star made Braemar grandmother’s day

The visit came at a perfect time for Iris.

Angela revealed that her mother has had a “tough” past 12 months after a some health scares.

After taking a fall and damaging her hip while out shopping in Braemar, she was also diagnosed with a presumed tumour earlier this year.

Antony’s kindness couldn’t have come at a better time.

The family are huge Corrie fans. Image: ITV/PA

“It’s just a magic moment and my mum just cannot get over it,” said Angela.

“Over the weekend we were still in disbelief because you don’t normally see stars out in Braemar.

“She said to me that it just made her day – I had to hold my tears in.”

Conversation