Anne Kirkbride, the Coronation Street stalwart who played Deirdre Barlow for 44 years, has died. The 60-year-old actress died in a Manchester hospital on Monday evening “after a short illness”, according to ITV. With her gravelly voice and outsize spectacles, Kirkbride's character had been a fixture on British television screens since the mid-1970s. The actor William Roache, who played Kirkbride's on-screen husband Ken Barlow, described her as “a loving and vibrant person”. He said: “I feel Anne’s loss so personally having worked closely with her for over 40 years. You always knew she was there because her laugh was never far away. source: googlenews Also Thumbs up to Darkside for blowing the news on Skype
