Secrets of the Street Secrets of the Street is former " Coronation Street " actress Lynne Perrie ' s autobiography . In the book , the actress looked back at 50 years in movies , television and cabaret , and her 23 years as the Street ' s Ivy Brennan . She also revealed the story of her departure from the soap and the truth about her cosmetic surgery operations . Publication . Lynne began work on the book shortly after she departed from " Coronation Street " in March 1994 , and it was published in hardback on 1st October 1994 , and in paperback on 26th May 1995 , where Lynne provided a new foreword to discuss the controversy surrounding her memoir , and explaining what she had been doing over the past seven months . The official book launch was on 7th November , and Lynne travelled around the country to promote it , including a book signing tour , and guest slots on television chat shows and radio stations . " The Sun " newspaper , who described it as " The best book ever written about Britain ' s number one soap opera " , serialised it ' s chapters , and Secrets of the Street received positive reviews from numerous other newspapers and magazines . The book became a best - seller in Britain . Controversy . Although essentially a book about her life and career , Perrie ' s memoir apparently annoyed Granada Television bosses , who regarded the book as a " poison pen " production . The company wanted to protect the current cast members whom Lynne had written about , and attempted to ban its publication , resulting in Perrie having to go to the High Court of Justice in London on 29th September over an attempted injunction . Street insiders said that Lynne signed a contract with a clause forbidding her from making written or verbal attacks on colleagues . Her solicitor however , Robert Clinton said : " Our argument was that the clause was not binding after her employment had ceased . " The other key question was whether the information that would be in the book is ' confidential ' . " The book ' s publisher John Blake said : " Granada asked us to cut about 10 percent of the book but we refused point blank . The TV company has with drawn the action and we have cut out two very minor bits of the book . " Lynne herself was quoted as saying : " My mouth has got me into big trouble - just like Ivy , But I ' m not going to close my lips now . Here is my story . The truth , the whole truth and nothing but the truth . " She maintained that she had tried to not to hurt anybody in the book , but she had to tell the truth . Granada were unsuccessful , and the book was published , billed as " The book they could not ban ! " . In his 1995 autobiography , Ken Morley who played Reg Holdsworth wrote : " When Granada tried to stop her warts - and all - book ' s publication , the whole cast was shocked . They dreaded Lynne exacting her revenge on them . Books had been written before and if they had that book banned where would the rest of us stand with tomes about our own lives ? When they failed to stop it there was a sense of relief and many realised for the first time that TV company couldn ' t control them for ever . Some , whose secrets were revealed in the book , however , had a different view of things . "