Liz Dawn refused to visit the ‘Coronation Street’ set after she’d left the soap.
The late actress – who passed away last month aged 77 after years of ill health – quit her iconic role of Vera Duckworth in 2008 and though her onscreen husband Bill Tarmey, who passed away in 2012, repeatedly invited her to return to see him, she insisted her only connection with the show was to watch it on screen.
Liz’s widower Donald Ibbetson said: "After Liz filmed her final scenes, I picked up her up in the car at Granada Studios. She got in, gave me a kiss and we drove away.
"She never went back. For years Bill would tell her to pop in. But Liz never did. She watched it on the telly but it was a chapter that had closed. Instead she focused on spending more time with family. Family always came first for her."
Despite the actress’ reluctance to return to the show, she made a brief reappearance as a vision to Bill’s character Jack as he passed away in a moving scene which saw them share one last dance.
Liz was diagnosed with lung condition emphysema in 2001 and given five years to live, but she refused to quit ‘Corrie’ until her health got too bad to continue any longer.
Don told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "Things just became harder and harder for Liz to stay on ‘Corrie’.
"She was breathless all the time. She made sure she was on set before her scene was filmed so she didn’t have to rush from her dressing room. And she avoided stairs. She hated them. She did all she could but in the end it became too hard to carry on."
Despite Don’s grief, he takes comfort in his belief his beloved wife has been reunited with Bill in the afterlife.
He said: "I suspect she’s up there now with Bill having a drink, chewing his ear off and waiting for me.
"I know he will take good care of her – until we are together again."
Liz Dawn didn’t want to go back to Corrie set
