William Roache and Beverley Callard were with Anne Kirkbride when she died.
The ‘Coronation Street’ stars joined the actress’ husband David Beckett at her hospital bedside to say a final goodbye before she passed away aged 60 on Monday (19.01.15).
A source told The Sun newspaper: "They were there at the end to say goodbye. Anne wasn’t awake to see them and died peacefully in her sleep."
William – who plays Anne’s on-screen husband Ken Barlow – insisted saying goodbye to his friend was "beautiful" not "hard" but he is struggling with knowing he won’t see her again.
He said: "Saying goodbye was something I wanted to do, because I knew what was happening – that wasn’t hard, that was beautiful – it was the whole thought of her not being around anymore that is the hard thing."
And Beverley – who plays Liz McDonald – said her "darling friend" passed away in a "room filled with love".
She tweeted: "My beautiful darling friend, Anne Kirkbride, passed away in a room filled with love. God Bless, my Darling Girl! Peace and rest!"
Anne is believed to have rejected chemotherapy after being diagnosed with breast cancer, causing the disease to spread to her brain.
However, the late actress’ family have yet to comment on her cause of death, with a statement simply sharing that her husband David has been left "heartbroken" by the loss.
William Roache and Beverley Callard were at Anne Kirkbride’s bedside
