In 1969, she was persuaded to come out of retirement to play police officer's wife Betty Turpin in Coronation Street, a role she would play for over 40 years. She was the longest-serving barmaid in the history of the Rover's Return, and Betty's Hot Pot (served at lunchtime in the Rovers) is an iconic dish, which has also been offered as a ready meal in UK supermarkets. She was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1976, when she was surprised by Eamonn Andrews. In 1994, she was the subject of BBC Radio 2's The Betty Driver Story. It was researched and scripted by Stephen Bourne who interviewed Betty and her sister Freda for the programme. Other interviewees included William Roache and Julie Goodyear. It was presented by Cilla Black. Driver wrote a memoir on her years in radio and television, titled Betty, which was published in 2000. In an interview on the Parkinson show on 11 November 2006, Sir Ian McKellen revealed that Driver still drove herself into work at 7:30 each morning, despite her age. She was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in the 2000 New Year Honours. In August 2008, it was announced that Driver was one of several Coronation Street stars who faced large salary cuts. She was reportedly admitted to hospital with a chest infection in April 2010. In May 2010, she was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the British Soap Awards. There were also rumours that she was to retire; however, these were confirmed as false. Driver vowed in September 2010 never to retire, stating that: "If I retire, I'll be dead in six months with boredom" and stated she still "loved" being part of Coronation Street. On 23 January 2011, she was the guest on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. Personal life Driver said she fell in love several times in her teenage years, but each relationship was ruined by her mother, who wanted to keep her daughter single so as not to lose her free "meal ticket". All the earnings Driver made before she turned 21 and was in charge of her own finances were squandered by her parents. Driver stated that she was bitter about the path chosen for herself and her sister: "I never wanted to be in the theatre and we really resented missing out on