Her 2003 return was better. She wasn't so bitter and cold.
It was also a story that saw the returns of Jim and Liz McDonald, as well as Cecil Newton - who had morphed into a Inspector Wexford lookalike.
I'm sure if Bet had remained, the coldness and bitterness would have subsided, she would have been running the Rovers again and finally made up with Rita.
The early 00's was a time when soaps were trying to get back to the glory years by bringing back popular characters. In EE, they tried to get Den and Angie to return around the same time, with Den eventually returning in late 2003.