Actress Wendi Peters is better known for playing the infamous loudmouth Cilla Battersby-Brown in Coronation Street, now the Lancashire actress is playing Mrs Metherell, an equally characteristic matriarch in Harold Birghouse’s football comedy, The Game.

“She is very, very strong,” says Wendi of her character. “She’s a very subtle battleaxe. She’s not one of those who will thrash it all out.

“As the mother of the star football player Jack, she really wants what’s best for him.”

The play opens on match day in 1913. The owner of Blackton Rovers hopes to solve his cashflow problems by selling local football hero Jack Metherell to a rival club on the eve of a crucial clash that could see Rovers being relegated, but will Jack play ball and throw the match?

Where the play is set closely resembles that of Wendi’s home town Blackburn. Does she see any parallels?

“The team is Blackton Rovers, which is so close to Blackburn Rovers. My grandad used to have a season ticket. Just reading the play brought back so many things to me. The woman I play reminds me of my Grandma Dawson; standing there on that front step, knowing everything that’s going on in her street.”

Wendi was a bit of a character in Coronation Street. So how does Mrs Metherell square up to Cilla?

“Cilla’s a mother – but the character I’m playing in The Game loves her son dearly. Cilla did love Chesney but in a very superficial way – she never showed it. I loved playing her. But I wouldn’t want to live next door to her.”

The Game is at Watford Palace Theatre, Clarendon Road, Watford until October 2 at 7.45pm. Details: 01923 225671.