Actress was known for Coronation Street role
Coronation Street star Anne Kirkbride — who played Deirdre Barlow for 44 years — died Monday at the age of 60.
Kirkbride had announced in September she was taking a three-month break from the long-running soap opera and was expected to return later this month, the Daily Mirror reports.
ITV confirmed the news Monday, saying: “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.
“David and the program’s cast and crew are heartbroken and deeply saddened at the loss of Anne, who has been a Coronation Street icon for 44 years.”
Her longtime onscreen husband William Roach — who plays 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 (fights) over the years as Ken and Deirdre and it was wonderful to play those scenes opposite her. Coronation Street has lost one of its iconic characters and Anne will be greatly missed.”
Kirkbride battled non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1993 but made a full recovery and returned to “the Street” within a year. But worse than the disease, Kirkbride said was a long fight with depression that made life “unbearable.”
Kirkbride — married to actor David Beckett whom she met on the show 22 years ago — has been at the centre of many of the show’s major plot lines over the past year.