Coronation St stars pay tribute to Maggie Jones

The stars of Coronation Street have paid tribute to fellow cast member Maggie Jones, who died in hospital on Wednesday aged 75. Maggie, who played Blanche Hunt on the Street, had to pull out of filming the soap in October to undergo surgery. Bill Roache told The Sun: "Maggie was a brilliant actress. "She was a tower of strength - physically frail, but mentally strong as an ox and sharp as someone half her age." Antony Cotton, who plays Sean Tully, also paid tribute: "I will remember her as the public will, as the unstoppable Blanche Hunt. "Sharper than a velociraptor with a flick-knife." Katherine Kelly, who plays Becky McDonald, said: "No words can truly describe how fabulous she was. I feel blessed to have known her." Executive producer Kieran Roberts added: "Maggie will be missed by Coronation Street's many millions of viewers." Maggie first appeared in the soap 35 years ago and has since won many awards for her performances as Blanche. Click here to watch whatsontv.co.uk’s new weekly soaps video preview, the Soap Scoop

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Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.

An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.