Coronation Street stars pay tribute to ‘legend’ Anne Kirkbride
The actress played Deirdre Barlow for 42 years
Coronation Street stars have paid to poignant tribute to Anne Kirkbride, who died yesterday aged 60.
Famous for playing Deirdre Barlow on the long-running ITV show for 42 years, Anne died after a brief illness at a Manchester hospital. Her death was confirmed by her husband David Beckett.
A statement from the ITV soap read: "It is with great sadness that David Beckett has confirmed tonight that his beloved wife and Coronation Street actress Anne Kirkbride has passed away peacefully in a Manchester hospital after a short illness."
Her co-star and close friend William Roache, who played on-off husband Ken Barlow, said: “I feel Anne’s loss so personally having worked closely with her for over 40 years.
“She was such a loving and vibrant person. You always knew she was there because her laugh was never far away.
“She was an impeccable performer with superb comedy timing and an immense gift for really heightened drama.
“We had some rows over the years as Ken and Deirdre and it was wonderful to play those scenes opposite her.
Anne’s character Deirdre was married four times on the ITV show and twice to Ken Barlow from 1981 to 1990 and 2005 to present.
Testament to the popularity of her character, when she was wrongly imprisoned after being duped by her ‘airline pilot’ partner Jon Lindsay, a‘Free Deirdre Rachid’ campaign was launched by fans, with merchandise being released and high profile politicians giving their support.
Kate Ford, who plays Deirdre’s on screen daughter Tracy Barlow, poignantly tweeted: "Heartbroken at the loss of my friend and beautiful on screen mummy. The most crazy, funny 100 per cent human. My life was enriched by her."
Coronation Street's creator Tony Warren said: "Anne was very easy to love. Her talent over the years made a massive contribution to Coronation Street."
ITV director of television Peter Fincham said: "Anne has been a truly loyal servant to Coronation Street since joining the programme in the early 1970s.
"She created a unique and unforgettable character in Deirdre Barlow and she'll be greatly missed on and off screen.
"Our sincerest condolences to Anne's husband David and her family at this very sad time."
You can read some of the tweets from Anne’s co-stars below: