The former Coronation Street actress, who played Bev Unwin in the soap, gave a speech to the crowd of people gathered outside the Rotunda, before cutting the purple ribbon, marking the start of a two-day public party.

Susie said: "When you see a beautiful building on the outside you are quite often disappointed when you get inside, but not here. It is fabulous. And what a position. It is gorgeous here, absolutely lovely. It is wonderful that it has been kept as a museum after all these years, and has not been turned into a bar or a hotel.

"The people of Scarborough have got something here to be very proud of."

As well as staring in Coronation Street, Susie recently appeared on television when she played Judith in Wild at Heart, set on a game reserve in South Africa.

Her job takes her all over the world, but Susie says she will always love seaside towns. She said: "I grew up on the coast. There is something special about having a holiday town to yourself during the winter."

Susie will be at the Stephen Joseph Theatre when she appears in The Things That Go Bump season by Alan Ayckbourn, which is due to start at the end of the month.

She said: "I was working in the West End on a show called Wicked. When I left no-one could understand why I was leaving to come to Scarborough, but they do not understand what a happy working atmosphere it is here. Working with Alan Ayckbourn is lovely. He gets so involved with what he is directing. He is the most inspiring director to work with. What is really exciting is that Life And Beth is the first play that Alan has wrote in a while and it is marvellous."

l The Things That Go Bump season starts with Haunting Julia, which opens on May 22, and will play until May 27.