Alan Halsall: Liz Dawn was like ‘family’

Alan Halsall says the late Liz Dawn was like "family" to him.
The ‘Coronation Street’ star – who plays Tyrone Dobbs, the foster son of Liz’s character Vera Duckworth, in the ITV soap – has paid tribute to the legendary actress after she passed away on Monday evening (25.09.17) at the age of 77.
He said: "It’s quite daunting to come into ‘Coronation Street’ as a 16-year-old and then to be put with Jack and Vera, such iconic characters, so well loved. They were brilliant as actors and then you get to know the people behind the characters and learn to love Liz and Bill [Tarmey]. They were brilliant.
"Liz, first and foremost, was such a family person and that’s how she was with us on set. Off camera, we become like a work family. She was brilliant. She guided us so much as young actors, both on screen and off screen because she was such a beautiful person."
And Alan went on to praise Liz for making him laugh time and time again.
He added: "Liz just had this amazing knack of being funny without knowing she was funny. She never knew what she said that was funny, which made it even funnier.
"We laughed so many times on set. Scenes that weren’t ever supposed to be funny in the scripts, we were constantly laughing. That’s the amazing ability she had as an actress and all that came from her as a person."
And Alan’s co-star Samia Longchambon – who plays Maria Connor in the soap – felt so lucky to call Liz a "friend".
Speaking to ITV News, she shared: "She was such a good friend and as Alan said, a mentor. She was my family and we obviously kept in touch when she left ‘Coronation Street’ and kept that close relationship so we just feel so lucky to have her in our lives.
"Obviously, it was an incredible experience to work with Liz, but to have Liz and call her a friend was even better because she was just such a beautiful, warm and generous person and I just miss her so much."