The soap star, 59, will make her debut on the cobbles this Christmas as head teacher Melinda, having already starred in Walford as Lorna Cartwright.
A source told the Daily Star: “This is a coup for producers. Janet was a big favourite on EastEnders. But now she’ll be spicing things up at Corrie.”
The publication added that Melinda will run Bessie Street Primary School with Brian Packham [Peter Gunn] and will be involved in a Nativity storyline.
Janet is initially slated for a seven episode run but could be back for more next year.
The actress first appeared in EastEnders in 1997 where she met Phil Mitchell at an AA meeting.
They embarked on a passionate yet turbulent affair behind Phil's wife Kathy's back. After Phil ended it a distraught Lorna tried to take her own life.
She briefly returned to the Square 18 years later where she once again bumped into Phil at an alcohol support group, but this time she was running the meet.
Earlier this month new Corrie boss Iain MacLeod teased his "Christmassy" Christmas plans for the soap with a huge surprising heartbreak for the cobbles.
The executive producer – whose episodes will begin in December – has insisted the show won't edge further into darkness and will be full of festive season when the time comes.
He told The Sun Online: "Well, the seeds for the biggest stories for Christmas you’ve just watched, without giving too much away."
Iain added: "I wanted it to be a Christmassy Christmas – obviously there’s a kind of history in soap of going and trying to do the Angie and Den Christmas where it’s all acrimony and divorce papers and vitriol.
"That’s not really my preference when you try and digest your stuffing balls and sprouts.
"You need it to be warm and you need it to be light-hearted in places and you need it to reek of Christmas.
"So it will be a Christmassy Christmas and it will have some big heartbreaking stories within that.
"It will have a big shock at the end and hopefully it will be a surprising payoff to some of the stories that you’ve just sort of seen the inception of here."
And the new year will kick off some even bigger stories.
He said: "Into the New Year we’ve got a really massive story that plays among some of our older cast but equally we’ve got huge new chapters for your Daniels and Sineads who are towards the younger end of the spectrum.
"We’ve got a big story for Amy Barlow coming up, but that’s all because the writers have brought amazing stories for those characters."
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