Coronation Street

[carrie_ann]

would like to know what you thought of the trail

[claire_louise]

Trial, lol. I thought it was great.

[paulli75]

She definetely got what she deserved!

[victim-ofthenight]

I thought the prosecution Woman was excellent espeically when she tried to make Tracy pick up that statue and do a hitting motion with one hand!!. I say serves her right for being cocky enough to think she can bump someone off and get away with it. So her carefully planned sick games weeks before she killed him with Claire and Gail were a waste of her time. I was very impressed with Kens acting as always throughout and good old Blanche always in there with a sarcastic dig.

[paulli75]

I loved it when Steve said to Liz "What's Amy going to say when her pals ask her what her parents do for a living? Oh me dad owns the local pub & me mam runs the wing at Style Prison"! Absolutely hilarious!

[victim-ofthenight]

I think last night was Kate Fords final appearance think the way she treated Dierdre and Ken was sickening, Yes she is her Mum but she asked her to lie under Oath and speaks to them like garbage after they Re mortaged their house and gave her every penny they worked for despite the fact she's a cold blooded killer.

[carrie_ann]

I think last night was Kate Fords final appearance think the way she treated Dierdre and Ken was sickening, Yes she is her Mum but she asked her to lie under Oath and speaks to them like garbage after they Re mortaged their house and gave her every penny they worked for despite the fact she's a cold blooded killer.

was that Kate last apperance im so gonna miss her i think she is a really good actress . i also think it was skinging the way she treated her mum and dad they did everything they did for her but just before dedri had to take the stand she found out the truth and found out she killed charlie stubbs in cold blood and had to make a hard choice

[Dan F]

From News of the World:

BRITAIN will say a tearful ‘Ta-ra, chuck' to Vera Duckworth later this year when actress Liz Dawn exits Coronation Street—ending one of TV's best-loved partnerships.

Loudmouth Vera and her henpecked husband Jack have kept Corrie fans entertained for almost three decades.

But now 68-year-old Liz, who suffers from the chronic lung disease emphysema, has told Granada bosses she's too ill to carry on in her £200,000-a-year role.

She will quit the Street before Christmas after 34 years and more than 2,000 episodes. But she won't be killed off, leaving the way open for special appearances alongside screen hubby Bill Tarmey, 66, who will carry on as Jack despite his own problems with heart disease.

Coronation Street executive producer Kieran Roberts last night paid warm tribute to Liz. "After 34 years as Vera, Liz has taken a decision to relax and enjoy her retirement. We're currently devising storylines for her character's departure from Weatherfield but we would prefer not to reveal details at this moment. We're indebted to her for all she has achieved during her years as Vera Duckworth.

"She is a star and is loved by ITV. We will always miss this wonderful lady and first-rate actress and we are delighted that she's agreed to return to the soap in the future."

Mother-of-four Liz has homes in Manchester and Spain, and will now be able to spend more time with her real hubby Don Ibbotson — and less time nagging Jack.

Last night a Granada source said: "Liz has helped turn Jack and Vera into the best-loved comedy double act in soap since Stan and Hilda Ogden. She has made Vera Duckworth a legend of the small screen."

"Bill's been floored by Liz's decision. He's always believed that they were a package and would go together. He's hardly a spring chicken himself but has decided to carry on though he realises that losing Vera will be like losing a limb for Jack."

The source added: "If you could bottle the magic that Liz has brought to the Street it would be a rare commodity."

Liz was diagnosed with emphysema three years ago and has found the illness increasingly debilitating in recent months.

Our source added: "She can't get her breath a lot of the time and can't walk very far. The crew try to limit the time she has to spend on her feet."

In the last year, Vera has rarely been seen outside the Duckworths' home at No9.

A recent storyline saw her trip over Jack's pigeon fanciers' magazines and sprain her ankle—the perfect way to ensure Vera could only be seen with her feet up. A new plot now being worked on will see the Duckworths move to sheltered housing.

When Liz was first diagnosed with emphysema she spoke openly about her illness. She said: "I am just grateful I have found a fantastic specialist. I can carry on doing what I love, which is being a mum and a grandma and working on Coronation Street." The actress suffered a major health scare 10 years ago when she started coughing up blood.

At the time she said: "I'm a smoker and really thought I had cancer. I have never felt such terrible fear."

Doctors diagnosed stomach ulcers, but the experience left the actress determined to quit her 30-a-day habit and help cancer sufferers. As a result she raised £1million for a breast cancer unit at St James' Hospital in Leeds.

It was for this that she was awarded her MBE. But the nation will remember her better as Vera, the big-hearted battleaxe with a deafening voice—and even louder earrings.

She first appeared in Coronation Street in 1974 as a machinist in Baldwin's Casuals. Her husband Jack became notorious for his wideboy antics before he was actually seen on the show in 1979.

In 1983, the Duckworths' rented home in Inkerman Street was to be demolished and they bought No9 Coronation Street.

They moved in with son Terry and Jack was delighted to discover that a coop of pigeons came with the house. The next year, Vera bought Stan Ogden's window cleaning round for Jack—but it sent him into the arms of lonely housewife Dulcie Froggat.

Another hilarious storyline saw Jack enter a ‘perfect hubby' competition in one of Vera's magazines. He won first prize—a Vauxhall Nova—but because he entered the contest in Vera's name the car was hers.

In 1991 the Duckworths discovered they had royal connections when an old friend of Vera's late mother revealed she was related to the Queen via the illicit offspring of King Edward VII and a housemaid.

Soon after the Duckworths applied to be chauffeur and cook for a wealthy couple in the country, the Maxwell-Glovers, by forging references from nobility.

But after landing the jobs, the scam was uncovered and they were soon back in the Street.

The Duckworths' son Terry, played by Nigel Pivaro, has caused them endless heartache. In 1992, while banged up for GBH, ‘Our Terry' did a runner when he was allowed out to marry girlfriend Lisa. After giving birth to son Tommy, Lisa was knocked down and killed and the Duckworths took in the baby. When Terry got out of prison, he kidnapped Tommy and sold him to Lisa's parents in Blackpool.

In 2000 an ex of Terry's turned up and told the Duckworths they had a grandson who would die unless he had a kidney transplant.

Terry ‘volunteered' to be a living donor and took £25,000 from Jack to keep the child alive—but then scarpered with the cash and both his kidneys. So Vera donated her organ to save the dying Paul.

n 1995, Jack received a surprise inheritance of £30,000 and they bought the Rovers. Three years on, they lost the pub and were back in No9. Through it all, the battling Duckworths have held on to the affection of Corrie viewers.

No one knows how Vera will make her exit, but it's a moment sure to have her fans crying—and this time not with laughter.

Our source said: "Her final scenes will be massively moving. Liz wears her heart on her sleeve and the tears are sure to flow.

"If you snapped Liz in half there'd be the words Coronation Street running through her."

[claire_louise]

So sad. I really hope that she and Jack don't split up - they're an institution!

[Danifan]

As much as i hated the fact she left, i'm so pleased Joanne got one over that smug cow Carla, she is such a pain. And the fact she took Liam down a notch or two was great as well. Goes to show it's always the quiet ones you have to watch. I'll miss Joanne. A part of me always hoped the Liam/Joanne relationship might have gone somewhere.

As for Vera, it will be the end of an era but i do feel it's about time as they don't have a lot to do anymore.