Memorial service planned for Corrie's Maggie Jones

Memorial service planned for Corrie's Maggie Jones
Memorial service planned for Corrie's Maggie Jones

Maggie Jones's life will be celebrated in a public service of remembrance at Salford Cathedral. Coronation Street filming will be suspended for the afternoon of Thursday, February 25 so cast and crew can attend the service. Maggie, who was loved by millions for her role as sharp-tongued Blanche Hunt in the ITV1 soap, died in December aged 75. The service, at 2pm, will be open to everyone and feature recitals and readings by cast members, as well as a personal address by actor William Roache. Coronation Street producer Kim Crowther said: "Maggie was such a wonderful character in real life, and just as unforgettable as her alter-ego Blanche. "Still missed greatly by cast and crew, we always planned to give everybody the chance to celebrate Maggie's life, both on and off the street. "Thursday is not just for the people that worked with her and knew her well, but also for the public who adored her - never less than when she was 'charming' the nation with her sharpest put-down." The actress was last seen on screen shortly before Christmas. Her absence in the soap is explained by Blanche house-sitting for a friend in Portugal. Viewers will hear of her death in May, and the character will have a funeral on-screen. Click here to watch whatsontv.co.uk’s weekly soaps video preview, the Soap Scoop

Patrick McLennan

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.