The Evening Press at York has pulled off a major coup with an exclusive series written by Britain's all-time favourite soap star, Jean Alexander.

Jean, aka Coronation Street's Hilda Ogden and Auntie Wainwright in Last of the Summer Wine, has many links with York, where her career as a young stage actress first took off.

In the weekly series she will write about her life in The Street, her relationships with other actors, her strong views on sex in the soaps, about why she never married and how she was beaten black and blue by over-enthusiastic fans.

"It's fascinating, exclusive stuff," said Evening Press deputy editor Bill Hearld, who persuaded 'Hilda' to write the columns.

"I've known Jean for some time and she has lots of stories to tell.

"So I just asked her to write for us and to my surprise, she agreed. The readers will love it."

Her first column appeared in Saturday's new-look, revamped weekend edition of the Evening Press.

The changes also included new features on the family, shopping and DIY and, at the back end of the paper, a comprehensive guide to the week's TV sports viewing, a column giving a woman's eye view on sport and a sporting tipsters challenge.

Editor Kevin Booth said: "We're delighted to have Jean on board writing exclusively for us, and believe we have given our readers an improved all-round package for the weekend. The response so far has been extremely encouraging."