Coronation Street stars in tears as they recall ‘hardest day’ filming Jack and Vera’s final scenes after her death

SOME of the biggest names on Coronation Street got emotional as they remembered their time working with Jack and Vera actors, Liz Dawn and Bill Tarmey.

During tonight’s special Coronation Street: 60 Unforgettable Years, the actors paid tribute to perhaps the most iconic couple in the ITV show’s history.



Liz Dawn and Bill Tarmey played the iconic Coronation Street couple Vera and Jack Duckworth

The constantly bickering couple first appeared on Corrie in 1974 and stayed on the Cobbles until Vera’s death in 2008.

But Vera managed a comeback in 2010 when she appeared to Jack as a ghost.

Some of the show’s biggest stars including Sherrie Hewson, remembered how tough it was to film those scenes, especially for Bill, whose health was declining.

“They were Mr and Mrs Coronation to me,” said Alan Halsall who plays Tyrone Dobbs on the show.



Vera died in 2008, leaving Jack heartbroken


But she returned to him in the form of a ghost two years later


Then Jack died, marking the end of an iconic Corrie era

Sherrie added: “You totally and utterly believed those characters existed in real life… you believed they were somebody’s next door neighbour.”

Tonight’s ITV special then played the heartbreaking moment, Jack came home to find Vera dead.

The special’s narrator Joanne Lumley then described the moment Vera returned as a ghost, as the “scene that broke the nation’s heart”.

Alan revealed how tough that moment was for everyone on set.



Many of the cast, including Sherrie Hewson got emotional remembering the scene

“Personally, knowing Bill’s health wasn’t great, that was one of the hardest days I’ve ever had to film,” Alan said.

Sherrie added while wiping away tears: “It was like part of your family dying.”

Corrie viewers agreed it was an emotional moment and took to Twitter to express it.



Alan Halsall said it was the hardest he’d had on set

One Twitter user wrote: “Jack and Vera are one of the most iconic soap couples ever.”

Another added: “That final scene with Jack and Vera. I am a sobbing wreck now.”

And a third said: “I thought I could get through that without crying and then they showed Jack and Vera.”



The couple first appeared on Corrie in 1974

Liz Dawn was awarded a MBE in 2000 and a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2008 British Soap Awards.

She died in 2017 after a long battle with cancer.

Bill Tarmey died just two years after retiring from Corrie at the age of 71 after suffering a heart attack at his home in Tenerife.