‘Coronation Street’ stars have paid tribute to Jean Alexander, who died on Friday (14.10.16).
The actress, who played Hilda Ogden in the ITV soap, passed away peacefully in hospital, just three days after her 90th birthday, and ‘Corrie’ stars past and present took to Twitter to remember her.
Antony Cotton, who plays Rovers Return barman Sean Tully, tweeted: "The magnificent Jean Alexander. My favourite episode of Coronation Street ever, was Hilda singing Wish Me Luck…"
Sally Dynevor, (Sally Webster in the soap), added: "Jean Alexander, RIP. What a wonderful woman, and such an amazing and talented actress #thankyouforbeingyou."
Jane Danson, who stars as Leanne Battersby, wrote: "Sad to hear this. What a wonderful character she created."
Jennie McAlpine, (Fiz Brown), tweeted: "So sorry to hear about Jean Alexander. I would have loved to work with her. Thankful to have met her though. Rest in Peace Jean x."
And former ‘Corrie’ actor Kevin Kennedy, who played Curly Watts, wrote on Twitter: "Sad to hear about the passing of Jean Alexander lovely lady and a fine actress."
The television legend had been feeling unwell for a few days and had gone to the hospital for some tests, but on Tuesday (11.10.16), was taken back to hospital after she hadn’t noticed any change in her condition.
Jean’s niece Sonia Herald told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "It is such a shock. She had been feeling a little poorly and had gone in for some tests. But on Tuesday she was still not too good and it was decided she might be better going back into hospital."
Sonia, along with her sister Valerie Thewlis, received a phone call to inform them of their aunt’s passing, and were left to break the news to their father – Jean’s brother – 91-year-old Kenneth Hodgkinson. The three are the only relatives of Jean, who never married and instead dedicated her life to her work.
Sonia added: "I saw her last week and she seemed weak and a bit tired but this was still a shock. The hospital phoned me and said they were very sorry but Jean had passed away."
Jean’s portrayal of Britain’s best loved cleaner Hilda – whom she played for 23 years from 1964 until 1987 – made her a household name, and even saw her receive a Best Actress nomination at the 1987 BAFTAs. In 1985, she won a Royal Television Society Award for her performance on the show.
In 2005, the UK TV Times poll voted Jean as the "greatest soap opera star of all time".
Coronation Street stars pay tribute to Jean Alexander
