Former Coronation Street star Susie Blake has paid a moving tribute to Anne Kirkbride, saying that the popular actress would want to be remembered with a smile.
Kirkbride, best known for playing Weatherfield's Deirdre Barlow for 42 years, passed away in a Manchester hospital yesterday (January 19) following a short illness.
Blake was a regular on Coronation Street between 2003 and 2006. She played the role of Bev Unwin, who became a close friend to Deirdre during her time on the cobbles.
Phoning in to ITV's This Morning today to share her reaction to Kirkbride's passing, Blake encouraged fans and admirers to remember the laughter she brought.
She commented: "It's a terrible shock but it's wonderful to hear you laughing, because that's what she was like backstage. She made everybody feel part of the family. She was the one who got everyone together, made them laugh, raised the temperature.
"If you went on location, she'd get out the chairs and she'd be sunbathing, making you laugh and taking inappropriate photographs of people who were snoring in deckchairs when they should have been learning their lines!
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"She was absolutely key to keeping everybody's energy up on a long day - at a funeral or at a wedding, or any occasion where the whole cast were there and we were all a bit down in the doldrums because it was a long day. She would be the one to make you laugh and say something inappropriate!"
Blake added that the loss of Kirkbride will have a big impact on the set of Coronation Street.
She said: "[It will leave] a massive hole. I don't know who can possibly take that role. When I left, she gave me a big furry sea creature - completely bizarre! And that was her - she was off the wall.
"She made wonderful films of everybody. Sally Lindsay, my on-screen daughter… when she left, she presented her with a film with everybody giving her messages. Not 'we're going to miss you' type messages - just ridiculous messages! That was her sense of humour - just completely off the wall."
On screen in Coronation Street, Deirdre is currently staying with Bev after deciding to take time out from Weatherfield. Kirkbride took a break from the show late last year and her final scenes aired in October.
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