Vera Duckworth is to die in a tear jerking Coronation Street storyline to be screened early next year, ITV announced today.
Three alternative endings have been written, but each will see Vera, played by actress Liz Dawn, die - leaving her husband Jack and friends and family devastated.
The exact details of her departure storyline will be filmed in top secret and viewers will not know how she will leave until the episode is shown in early 2008.
The decision to kill off the character of Vera was taken after long consultation between Coronation Street producer Steve Frost, executive producer Kieran Roberts and Liz herself.
Liz, Steve and Kieran felt it was better to have a dramatic finale rather than compromise the characters of Jack and Vera by having Liz come back for occasional guest appearances in the future.
Liz is also delighted that having made the decision to leave the soap after 33 years, she can now focus on enjoying her retirement without feeling the need to come back to work to fulfil storyline obligations.
Steve Frost said: “After discussions with Liz Dawn we have settled on a heart-breaking exit story which will see Vera leave Coronation Street in 2008. Liz’s contribution to Coronation Street has been quite remarkable. She has played Vera, one of the most-loved characters on British television, for 33 years and she will be missed enormously, by everyone who works with her on the show and by millions and millions of viewers. It has been a great privilege to work with Liz and I wish her a very happy and very well-deserved retirement.”
Liz said: “It is going to be very emotional filming Vera’s death scenes but I do think it is the right decision for the character. Steve Frost and Kieran Roberts were very respectful about how I would feel about Vera dying and we talked about it at length before we made the final decision. I have had 33 marvellous years in Coronation Street and will miss everyone very much.”
Liz first joined Coronation Street in 1974 and fast became one of the shows most popular and iconic characters. View our special Vera Duckworth gallery by clicking on the link below.
http://www.itv.com/Soaps/coronations...e/default.html
ITV.com