BRITAIN:There were tears in Coronation Streetand in real homes throughout Britain and Ireland last night as Vera Duckworth's life was ended just as she and screen husband Jack contemplated the joys of retirement to a Blackpool bungalow.
Millions of viewers tuned in to see a disbelieving Jack - actor Bill Tarmey - watch the funeral directors remove the body of the battle-axe with the heart of gold, marking the end of one of television's best loved and most successful acting duos.
Tight security had surrounded filming of three different versions of Vera's sudden death, with viewers kept in the dark until last night's double bill when the 33-year stalwart of "The Street" died quietly in her armchair from a heart attack as her beloved Jack supped a quick pint in the Rovers.
The producers of the award-winning soap and actress Liz Dawn had agreed death was the only way out for Vera after Dawn was forced to retire because of ill-health.
A lifelong smoker, the actress was diagnosed with the lung disease emphysema five years ago and reluctantly decided to quit the show in order to "enjoy life while I can" with her husband, four children and five grandchildren. Dawn knew filming the final scenes would be very emotional, but said she had no doubt it was the right decision to kill off her character.
"[ Producers] Steve Frost and Kieran Roberts were very respectful about how I would feel about Vera dying and we talked about it at length before we made the final decision," she said, adding that the dramatic finale was better than the compromise of occasional guest appearances into the future.
The final plot was true to form for poor Vera, whose lot in life was so frequently to be disappointed by the idle Jack, bad boy son Terry (who will reappear for the funeral) and more recently by a ner-do-well grandson.
Last night's tear jerker may not have had the reach of the famous "Who Shot JR" on Dallas. Nor was it the kind of defining moment for popular culture where Celebrity Big Brotherclashed with real life and Jade Goody sparked an international row over racism. But this was nonetheless the death of an icon in a television soap dating back to the days of just four channels, dominated as it always has been by strong Northern women.
And like Ena Sharples, Annie Walker, Elsie Tanner and Hilda Ogden before her, Vera Duckworth will be missed.