View Full Version : Jack Duckworth quits Weatherfield
CORRIE legend Bill Tarmey - loveable rogue Jack Duckworth - last night confirmed he is to quit the soap.
Bill, 69, has played the role for 31 years.
Last year The Sun revealed he was cutting back on appearances due to his ailing health.
And he has now announced he is leaving for good to spend more time with his family.
He will bow out as the show marks its 50th anniversary.
Last night Bill - who has battled with heart problems - said he "loved" playing Jack, adding: "I'll be sorry to say goodbye."
The soap's executive producer Kieran Roberts said: "We will be sad to see him go."
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/2925712/Coronation-Streets-Jack-Duckworth-aka-Bill-Tarmey-is-to-quit-soap.html#ixzz0kYkNFoQy
Chloe O'brien
10-04-2010, 00:54
I'm surprised he stuck around this long after Liz Dawn retired. I'll miss Jack. He like many of the old Corrie cast like Hilda, Stan, Elsie Tanner, Ena Sharples dear old Blanche had a way of getting into your heart. Hopefully Bill will live a long and happy retirement with his family.
Coronation Street veteran Jack Duckworth may win the lottery in his final storyline, a report has claimed.
The ITV1 soap's producers are currently working on an exit plot for the Weatherfield favourite following Bill Tarmey's decision to quit the role after three decades.
According to the Daily Star, one option on the table would see Jack bow out of the Street for a new life in the sun following a EuroMillions jackpot win.
Insiders have claimed that this idea is most favoured by storyliners as it would leave the door open for Jack to return for one-off specials.
A source said: "Lots of ideas are in the melting pot, but this is the most exciting. It could mean we won't have seen the last of Jack."
Tarmey's final scenes are expected to tie in with Coronation Street's 50th anniversary celebrations.
I really hope that they do not kill him off
Alan Halsall has become the latest Coronation Street star to pay tribute to departing actor Bill Tarmey.
Earlier this month, Tarmey announced that he had decided to quit his role as Weatherfield legend Jack Duckworth after three decades in the part.
Speaking on GMTV today, Halsall backed his co-star's decision to bow out, arguing that the 69-year-old's retirement will be well-deserved.
Halsall, who plays mechanic Tyrone Dobbs, explained: "It's very, very sad obviously. He's been in the show now for 30 years and we're coming up to our 50th anniversary so that just shows you how long he's been there.
"He has been 'Mr Coronation Street' for somebody of my age. I've grown up watching Jack Duckworth and loved him, so to have worked with him for 12 years is fantastic.
"But in a personal [sense], I'm glad for him and I'm glad for his family that he can enjoy his retirement. Hopefully he can enjoy a long life after Coronation Street because he's very much loved here by everyone. He'll be sorely missed but I'll catch up with him for a few pints of Guinness."
Tarmey's final scenes are expected to air in December as part of Coronation Street's 50th birthday celebrations.
Coronation Street star Bill Tarmey is to release an autobiography later this year, it has been announced.
The actor will open up about his personal life and experiences in the role of Weatherfield's Jack Duckworth in the forthcoming book, which is to be called Being Jack - My Life on the Street and Other Adventures.
According to The Bookseller, publisher Simon & Schuster bought the rights to the title for a "healthy six-figure sum".
Kerri Sharp, Simon & Schuster's commissioning editor for non-fiction, commented: "The book is a must for fans of both Coronation Street and of classic British TV."
Tarmey will bow out from Coronation Street later this year after three decades in the part of Jack. His departure is expected to tie in with the soap's 50th anniversary celebrations.
Being Jack will be released in hardback in October.
CORRIE legend Jack Duckworth will beg his girlfriend to help him commit SUICIDE after being diagnosed with incurable cancer, we can reveal.
But shocked Connie Rathbone refuses to risk going to jail - so he moves out and back in with his "adopted" son Tyrone.
During Jack's last days he secretly carries out kind acts for his Street neighbours to make them happy.
The plot comes after actor Bill Tarmey, 69, announced in April he was quitting as Jack after 31 years to spend more time with his family.
Bosses planned to kill him off in December's tram crash, which will wipe out several characters. But he now dies soon afterwards of non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma - in a dramatic storyline that will fuel the national debate on assisted suicide.
An insider on the ITV soap said: "Bill's been such a huge part of the show for so long that we wanted to give him a fitting send-off."
tammyy2j
08-08-2010, 17:42
Its kinda fitting that he dies on the street and in the house Vera died in also - It will be very sad :(
Its going to be very sad:( I know I will be crying non stop
Chloe O'brien
10-08-2010, 01:22
We all knew Jack was going to die when Bill announced his retirement from the street. But why can't they just let him die peacefully in his sleep or maybe sitting in the rovers. Why give him such a painful exit. Bill has been a national treasure in the street and there won't be a dry eye when he bows out if Weatherfield. Come on writers let him go happy to meet up with Vera again.
Will he die before or after Molly?
CANCER-stricken Jack Duckworth is to embark on a series of "Things to do before I die" escapades inspired by Hollywood movie The Bucket List.
The terminally ill Corrie character - played by Bill Tarmey - will aim to do everything he has been wanting to in life, accompanied by "son" Tyrone.
Show chief Phil Collinson has taken inspiration from the 2007 film starring Jack Nicholson, in which two dying men draw up a "to-do" list before they kick the bucket.
A Street source said: "Phil thinks it's a touching story. Jack's a much-loved character and deserves a decent send-off.
"There were rumours that he'd be killed in the planned tram crash but that would short-change viewers."
Jack moves back in with Tyrone, played by Alan Halsall, after a fall-out with girlfriend Connie. He is being killed off after 31 years, following a decision by actor Bill, 69, to leave the soap.
Bosses are not letting on what Jack will get up to in his final days.
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/soaps/3090245/Corries-cancer-stricken-Jack-Duckworth-in-things-to-do-before-I-die-plotline.html#ixzz0wFmRiW8z
parkerman
11-08-2010, 09:09
Bosses are not letting on what Jack will get up to in his final days.
Maybe he's always wanted to drive a tram.....oh no!!!!
Chloe O'brien
11-08-2010, 13:40
It;s going to be traumatic to watch Jack slowly loose his life. Wonder how many items he will have on his bucket list.
All Jack has in his bucket is an old dried up chamois from his window cleaning days and a squeegee
Chloe O'brien
11-08-2010, 16:14
All Jack has in his bucket is an old dried up chamois from his window cleaning days and a squeegee
Those and his old national health glasses, held together with sticky plaster.
tammyy2j
11-08-2010, 16:25
I know its a sad storyline but I hope Jack has some fun things to do on his bucket list
Coronation Street's Jack Duckworth will strike up a close friendship with Sally Webster, a newspaper claims.
Earlier this week, reports claimed that Jack, who is played by Bill Tarmey, will commit suicide in a plot in which he is diagnosed with the terminal non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma disease.
The Sun understands that Jack will offer Sally (Sally Dynevor) tickets to the theatre after he overhears her in the Rovers Return saying that she has never been able to afford it.
This is apparently among a number of kind gestures from the 73-year-old pigeon-lover before he passes away.
Chloe O'brien
13-08-2010, 14:19
ITV are going to torture us. This storyline will go on for weeks with Jack given all the residents in the street a kind gesture, before he dies. The viewers will be weeping buckets get your hankies at the ready.
I think he deserves a good sad exit though
tammyy2j
23-08-2010, 12:14
Jack Duckworth's last words in Coronation Street will reportedly see him ask the ghost of his wife Vera if it is hot where she is now.
The Daily Star Sunday reports that Bill Tarmey has recently filmed his final scenes for the ITV soap. He announced in April that he was quitting the role after three decades.
It was previously claimed that bosses planned to have the spirit of his deceased wife Vera (Liz Dawn) appear.
The report now suggests that Dawn has agreed to return for the one-off appearance.
"Liz has already agreed and will be back on set in the coming weeks," a source told the paper. "They always had the comedy element as a couple and the scriptwriters get the balance just right."
They added: "Vera will try to persuade Jack to join her and reassure him he'll be OK."
Viewers will apparently see Jack ask his wife: "Is the place where you are now hot?"
A Corrie insider said that the heartbreaking scenes had left cast and crew fighting back tears.
"There are people who have been working on the show for more than 40 years who have never seen anything like it," they said.
"The scenes of Jack coming to terms with his illness and accepting that he is going to die soon have left even the hardest of us with a lump in our throats."
The source added: "Bill is playing the scenes brilliantly. But there was no way the bosses would let Jack die without one last scene with Vera."
Jack will apparently pass away after he is diagnosed with an incurable cancer.
Chloe O'brien
23-08-2010, 12:21
Aw bless him I don't think I'll be able to watch this.
IT'S the end of an era for the residents of Weatherfield when Corrie pigeon fancier Jack Duckworth passes away next month.
The Street's great and good turn out as a hearse drives down the cobbled street for the batty ex-barman's funeral.
New girlfriend Connie Rathbone (Rita May) leads the mourning, along with "adopted" son and daughter-in-law Tyrone and Molly Dobbs (Alan Halsall and Vicky Binns).
And even a pigeon turns out to say goodbye to the lovable character played by Bill Tarmey, 69, for 31 years.
An onlooker told TV Biz: "Even though it was only a telly funeral everyone looked sad. While the nation will miss Jack, the cast and crew will clearly miss Bill."
Jack's wife Vera, played by Liz Dawn, died in 2008.
The Sun
So he does not die in the tram disaster but even before then :crying:
The cast of Coronation Street have been photographed filming Jack Duckworth's funeral.
It was announced in April that Bill Tarmey was quitting the soap after three decades in the role. Reports suggested that Jack will pass away after he is diagnosed with an incurable cancer.
Jack's new girlfriend Connie Rathbone (Rita May) will lead the mourners, along with his 'adopted son' Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall).
Pictures also showed Jim McDonald (Charlie Lawson) paying his last respects to the pigeon-lover. Earlier this month, Lawson confirmed that he was returning to the soap.
One onlooker told The Sun: "Even though it was only a telly funeral everyone looked sad. While the nation will miss Jack, the cast and crew will clearly miss Bill."
I can't believe he's going to die so soon :(
tammyy2j
07-09-2010, 13:39
Tyrone should name his new baby son Jack
Tyrone should name his new baby son Jack
I think they do name him Jack, Tammy :)
I think that Jack is the name for the baby :)
There won't be a dry eye in the house when Jack Duckworth's funeral hits screens.
Corrie stars have been busy filming their goodbye to the Weatherfield legend, who leaves screens later this year.
Leading the mourners were Jack's girlfriend Connie Rathbone (Rita May) as well as his "adopted" son Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall) and daughter-in-law Molly Dobbs (Vicky Binns).
Bill Tarmey has played the pigeon fancier for a staggering 30 years.
Jack's death, rumoured to be from an incurable cancer, comes two years after his beloved wife Vera (Liz Dawn) went to the big pigeon loft in the sky.
On the red carpet at the TV Choice awards, Corrie star Ryan Thomas, who plays Jason Grimshaw, paid tribute to the Weatherfield legend.
"I'm sad about Jack. It's the end of an era. It's happened with Liz and now with Jack," Ryan said.
"But there are still some legends left!"
Coronation Street star Bill Tarmey will reportedly film his final scenes for the soap this week.
The actor, who has played Jack Duckworth for over 30 years, will celebrate his time on the show with a leaving party in the Rovers Return on Wednesday, the Sunday Mirror reports.
A source said: "Bill couldn't think of a better way to say goodbye, surrounded by his fellow stars."
It has been suggested that Jack will pass away after being diagnosed with cancer in November. Stars of the show were recently spotted filming his funeral scenes.
Chloe O'brien
13-09-2010, 11:35
I think Friday's episode was the first signs of Jack's ill health. When he was in the Rovers with Tyrone and the others and Tyrone asked him back to see Molly he said no he was too tired and going home but his face told a different story. Poor Jack we will all miss him.
TEARFUL Bill Tarmey says farewell to a Corrie colleague yesterday after filming his last scenes.
Bill, 69, who quit after playing Jack Duckworth for 30 years on the ITV soap, had a party thrown in his honour by bosses last night. :(
LOOK out for Enid Dunn as a tea lady in the new Corrie drama. She's mum to Antony Cotton - Sean in the soap.
TV bosses will give Jack Duckworth the ultimate send-off by naming an ale after him.
Newton & Ridley – the brewery behind the Rovers Return – will make a commemorative keg in the memory of bitter-loving Jack.
New producer Phil Collinson came up with the idea as he was eager to make sure 69-year-old actor Bill Tarmey’s exit should stay in the memories of millions of Street fans.
A Corrie source said: “It’s a master stroke – what a brilliant way to remember Jack.
“And Bill loved the idea too. His smile was a mile wide when he heard they were going to introduce a special bitter in his memory.”
Jack is set to die of cancer and the bitter will go on sale in the Rovers after his funeral. :thumbsup:
Chloe O'brien
17-09-2010, 09:18
What a brilliant legacy to leave Jack. His own ale.
Actor Bill Tarmey's last hours as Jack Duckworth in Coronation Street were the soaps most emotional moments ever both on and off screen.
Cast and crew members wept as Bill shot his death scenes as cancer-stricken Jack with former co-star Liz Dawn as his late wife Vera in a dream sequence.
And the tears carried on into the evening at Bill's farewell party after 31 years in the show.
An insider said : Jacks death will go down as one of the most heart-breaking exits ever. Never before have so many people been in tears during filming.
And there was lots of crying and laughter too when Bill was given a tremendous send-off. It was testimony to how people felt about both Bill leaving the soap and Jack dying.
Actress Liz, 70, who quit as Vera Duckworth in 2008 because of health problems, made a secret return to the studios on Wednesday to link up with her best mate Bill, 69.
We can reveal that in November viewers will see Jack drifting into a coma at home, while starting to visualise his little swamp duck Vera.
His beloved wife is heard saying Come on Jack, there's a bus due in 12 minutes and we need to get on it. With that, Jack gets up from his chair and dances with Vera to the Tony Bennett song The Good Life that's on the record player.
Bill's real-life wife Ally, and children Carl and Sara, choked back tears as they watched the scenes unfold on a TV monitor near the Corrie set.
Massive applause broke out from cast and crew when the cameras stopped rolling. Lovable layabout Jack dies on his 74th birthday, which he celebrates earlier that evening in the Rovers.
He is chuffed at being spoiled rotten by his old friends and neighbours, who wheel out a cake. And he chuckles as barmaid Betty (Betty Driver) reminds of his days as the pubs cellar man.
She teases: You never did a stroke of work down there. You spent most of the time reading horse racing papers and sleeping off hangovers.
But there is torment when Jack learns that Kevin (Michael Le Vell) is the real father of Molly's son Baby Jack, rather than Tyrone (Alan Halsall).
Jack confronts Molly (Vicky Binns) but she assures him that her fling with Kevin now counts for nothing and that shell love Tyrone deeply and forever.
Devastated Jack promises he will not breathe a word to Tyrone, who he loves more than his own wayward son Terry, and will take the secret to his grave.
Sadly, Jacks words prove prophetic. He starts to feel unwell, and with a last look around the Rovers, he slips off home for the very last time. Just a few hours later, Bill was back in the Rovers to toast his retirement from the show with 250 friends and colleagues.
They included Corrie producer Phil Collinson and show stalwarts such as Helen Worth, who plays Gail, and Sally Whittaker, alias Sally Webster. This time it was Bills turn to sob as he said: Thank you for 31 wonderful years. Ill never ever forget them.
I have loved my time here, made many great friends. The crew have always been special and I have loved working with them. They have been very much part of my family. Fantastic people.
I would also like to thank my wife Ally for putting up with all this for all these years. I couldn't have done it without her. Bill watched a video {compilation of Jacks greatest moments including his very first appearance shown on a giant screen.
Afterwards Bill joked: Bloody hell, I thought I had been rubbish all those years but having just seen these scenes I suppose I wasn't that bad!
Bill, who had to use an oxygen mask to aid his breathing during the evening, was again in tears when Alan Halsall showed the affection between the two actors mirrors that of Jack and Tyrone.
Alan, 28, visibly trembling and almost too overcome with emotion to speak, recovered to talk warmly of how Bill had been like a father to him on set.
His words brought cheers and yet more tears. Liz Dawn then joined in with more praise for Bill, talking lovingly of their on and off screen relationship.
Producer Collinson presented Bill with a joke BAFTA award for all the laughter he brought to the show and a painting by renowned Salford artist Harold Riley depicting a colliery where Bill worked as a young man.
Bill, who was also given a Raymond Weil luxury watch bought by the cast, was described as a man of the people, a true working-class lad who had made good and who had never forgotten his roots.
Our Corrie source said : No one can quite remember a send-off like it. The place will never be quite the same now Bill has gone.
People
this is goin g to be so sad, just like when they waved goodbye to vera! a true corrie legend.
Chloe O'brien
20-09-2010, 00:01
God I'm welling up just reading about it now. I don't know how I will cope when it's shown. But I know one thing I'll have my glass full to toast one of the country's best actor who has bought us all many joyous moments as Jack. and I hope he is honoured with a lifetime award at this years NTA awards or the Soap Awards next year.
Bill Tarmey has admitted that he is finding it strange not to have to film scenes for Coronation Street.
The Jack Duckworth actor shot his final episode recently and celebrated his exit with the cast and crew at a bash last week.
"At the moment I'm cabbaged," he told the Daily Star. "My head's all over the place. All of a sudden I've got nowhere to go. I'm still up at 5.30am and work is still going around my head but I don't have to do the scenes."
He described his "sweet" final on-screen moments with Alan Halsall (Tyrone Dobbs).
"It was a sweet little scene and I was trying my best not to cry," he confessed. "It's hard when you are dead! It was breaking my heart with Alan next to me and I know it was breaking his heart in the scene for real."
His former on-screen wife Liz Dawn attended the party and watched a video montage of his three decades in the show.
"When they played the compilation - when they were going through all the old clips - well, at that stage I just burst into tears. Ali broke down and Liz had a sniffle as well. It was just like This Is Your Life," he said.
However, Tarmey admitted that there is one thing he will not miss about the Weatherfield soap.
"I won't miss all the daft long scenes - the long ones written like Gideon's Bible!" he said.
http://holysoapcdn.five.tv/assets/images/16710/Coronation_Street_gallery_7-1_1285171028_large.jpg?1285171221
Jack Duckworth (Bill Tarmey) makes an unexpected appearance back on the cobbles after rowing with Connie. Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall) is more than happy to let him stay, but the reasons behind Jack's departure from Connie's remain a mystery...
This must be the beginning of the end for Jack.
I reckon he has a terminal illness and wants 'home' to die
I concur with you, Alan :eek: :p
That seems a very likely explanation. How sad :(
Chloe O'brien
23-09-2010, 15:51
When this happening I'm not watching. I can't
CORRIE legend Jack Duckworth will be reunited in eternity with wife Vera - when his ashes are scattered into the sea at Blackpool.
Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall) takes Jack's ashes for one last ride on the promenade tram before casting them off the North Pier.
Actor Bill Tarmey, who has played Jack Duckworth for 31 years, has already filmed his final scenes, which will air next month.
His screen wife Vera (Liz Dawn) died from a heart attack in 2008.
Her ashes were then scattered in Blackpool.
A source said: "After scattering Jack's ashes Tyrone says he can feel Vera's presence."
The Sun
Chloe O'brien
01-10-2010, 10:23
This is getting sadder by the post.
Coronation Street legend Bill Tarmey has admitted that bowing out of the soap was a difficult decision to make.
The actor recently filmed his final scenes as Weatherfield's Jack Duckworth after more than 30 years in the role. His final moments on the cobbles are expected to air next month.
Speaking to The Mirror about his departure, Tarmey commented: "It has been one hell of a ride. But it has come to an end. You wouldn't believe, kid, how hard it has been for me to leave the Street. That place has been my family for 30 years. Leaving has been painful."
He continued: "Retiring was a very hard decision to make. It wasn't just like retiring from a normal job. I was also bringing to an end a character who has become known and loved across the country. But the time had come."
The 69-year-old added that ill health made life difficult for him on set towards the end of his Corrie career, because he has hearing problems, extreme breathing difficulties and often feels tired as he suffers from a sleep disorder named sleep apnea.
Tarmey said: "The sleep apnea was a real problem. I was waking all through the night and then my body clock was getting me up at five in the morning. Granada were very obliging and wouldn't put me in early morning or late night scenes, but I just felt knackered."
The star releases his new autobiography Jack Duckworth and Me on October 14.
We've heard of some seriously amusing techniques actors use in an effort to learn their lines.
But Coronation Street's fiery couple Jack and Vera Duckworth may have taken the Post-It with their novel idea.
Veteran star Bill Tarmey, who portrays long-suffering Jack, has revealed he and on-screen wife Liz Dawn would stick notes on props, reminding them of the script.
"We found a neat way to be reminded of our dialogue was to stick little notes on the props. As we talked over breakfast, there'd be a piece of paper stuck to the cornflakes box or the sugar bowl," he recalled in his autobiography, Jack Duckworth & Me, which is being serialised in the Daily Mirror.
He continued: "The funniest time was during a scene in which Terry (Nigel Pivaro) was checking on a chicken in the oven. Nigel corpsed with laughter when he opened the oven door.
"He pointed to Liz and said, 'She's only put a crib sheet on the chicken's a**e. The studio was in fits."
The 69-year-old, who is bowing out after almost 30 years, said he felt a "real loss" at the death of his screen spouse and didn't need to fake any tears.
"When Jack started to cry at his loss, I was crying for my own loss because it was Liz's last scene - our partnership as a soap double act was over," he said.
"I can't describe how much I've missed Liz Dawn since she left. By 'eck we'd 'ad some adventures, as Jack would say."
The story of Jack and Vera wasn’t exactly Romeo and Juliet. It was more like Punch and Judy.
But despite the bust-ups, the affairs and the flying crockery, they had a depth of feeling for each other.
It wasn’t sentimental. It was the sort of love affair that comes from adversity. They’d been through a lot together and come out the other side.
I first met Liz Dawn in a cold church filming Brian and Gail Tilsley’s wedding in 1979. She’d been playing Vera since 1974 and we were on nodding terms as I’d spent so much time as an extra.
But soon our smouldering passion burst into flames in a scene which could have come straight out of a comedy.
During a break in filming, we were rounded up outside and the crew provided heaters to keep us warm.
Liz was wearing a thin Crimplene skirt so she huddled up with her back to the fire as we waited to be called for the next shot. We were both sucking on cigs so I didn’t spot the smoke at first, but then the smell of burning Crimplene hit me.
I hurled Liz to the ground and started slapping her backside to put out the flames which were starting to spread. Liz screamed. She must have thought I was a maniac. I carried on spanking her, saying, “I’m sorry but you’re on fire”.
Fortunately, the only damage was to the dress. But the background team had seen a spark between Jack and Vera that they thought they could develop.
My biggest fear then – and even now 30 years later – was that I’d forget my lines and c**k everything up.
People like Annie Kirkbride, who plays Deirdre, seemed able to read the dialogue once and remember it.
I know I’m just a Manchester lad playing a Manchester lad, but learning anything always came harder to me than the rest of the world.
Over the years, all the famous cast members helped to calm me in one way or another and I’ll always be grateful to them.
But the person who helped me most was Liz. She had endless patience. When I screwed up she never tutted or got angry. She was always there, trying to boost my confidence.
Working with Liz was a wonderful experience. She’s delightfully dotty and I still chuckle at some of her antics.
We’d also spend our nights off in each other’s company. Her husband Don had a dry sense of humour which tickles me. My wife Ali gets on with most people and although she isn’t an extrovert, she enjoys people like Liz who are. We have all become friends for life.
I’ve never known anyone who can be as unintentionally funny as Liz. She can have people in hysterics and she’s the only one who’s not in on the joke.
Once we were taking part in quiz show Celebrity 3-2-1 in the 1980s to raise money for charity. One of the questions the show host Ted Rogers asked us was: “What P completes the Battle of the Khyber?”
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I immediately said, “Pass.” At which point Liz dug me in the ribs and said, “Don’t pass. I think I know this one.”
As everyone fell about laughing, Liz looked totally bewildered.
In 1983 Nigel Pivaro made his first appearance as Jack and Vera’s son, Terry. Nigel was a lovely lad and he became like a real son to Liz and me. But at first Liz and I were a bit worried about working with a “real” actor who’d trained at RADA. We were both concerned about what Nigel would think of us when he discovered our trick for remembering the lines.
Although I had a hopeless memory, Liz wasn’t much better and neither of us wanted to hold things up with a series of retakes. We found a neat way to be reminded of our dialogue was to stick little notes on the props.
As we talked over breakfast, there’d be a piece of paper stuck to the cornflakes box or the sugar bowl. The funniest time was during a scene in which he was checking on a chicken in the oven. Nigel corpsed with laughter when he opened the oven door. He pointed to Liz and said, “She’s only put a crib sheet on the chicken’s a***.” The studio was in fits.
In 2000, Prince Charles visited the set to meet the cast of Coronation Street. The scene being shot involved Vera being ill in bed. As he approached her bedside, the Prince said to Liz, “Hello. How are you?”
Liz replied, “Have you brought me any grapes?” The Prince’s face was a picture. He roared with laughter. That’s my Liz.
Sadly, Liz suffers from emphysema, which can leave her gasping for breath. For several years, she’d discussed leaving with me but she’d soldiered on because she didn’t want to let down the fans.
And she was always worried that if they wrote Vera out, Jack would be written out too. It was typical of Liz to put other people’s considerations before her own.
In 2007, when she told me she wasn’t renewing her contract, I said, “Good. I’m glad.”
I didn’t mean it in anything but a caring way because that woman deserves some time to enjoy life.
If the bosses and the scriptwriters had decided to kill both of us off, it wouldn’t have mattered. I wouldn’t have wanted her to stay on just for my sake.
I thought the scenes where Vera died in her favourite chair were very moving and tastefully done. I was glad they didn’t have her murdered or hit by a passing tram. There’s a time for that sort of storyline, but I thought the way they wrote out Vera was spot on.
As Jack talked to Vera in her armchair, and put his coat over her to keep her warm, I was feeling genuine grief. I’m getting emotional even now as I cast my mind back to the scene. Jack was holding Vera’s hand and calling her his “little swamp duck”. It was beautifully written. The sadness didn’t need any acting on my part, I was suffering a real loss – the loss of my screen wife.
As her body was taken away, Jack sat alone staring at Vera’s empty chair. I found genuine emotion bubbling up inside me. When Jack started to cry at his loss, I was crying for my own loss because it was Liz’s last scene.
Our partnership as a soap double act was over.
I can’t describe how much I’ve missed Liz Dawn since she left. By ’eck we’d ’ad some adventures, as Jack would say.
Read more: http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv-entertainment/soap-news/2010/10/05/bill-tarmey-exclusive-my-life-as-jack-duckworth-115875-22610460/#ixzz11XxPlEj6
Bill Tarmey has insisted that Coronation Street will have no problem continuing without Jack Duckworth.
Tarmey announced his decision to quit the ITV soap in April and recently celebrated with the cast after he filmed his final scenes.
"I'm in no doubt Corrie can survive without Jack Duckworth," he wrote in his autobiography, which is being serialised by The Mirror.
"Whether Bill Tarmey can survive without Corrie remains to be seen. I think we'll both be OK. We've lived the dream and enjoyed almost every minute of it."
The 69-year-old revealed that the show's producer Phil Collinson had tried to make him change his mind about leaving.
"Even when I told new producer Phil Collinson I was leaving, he tried to persuade me to stay but I expected him to be happy to see the back of me," he said.
"You see, I've always known they knew I knew they knew I couldn't really act. But somehow we've muddled through."
He continued: "I'm just a pillock who comes into a studio to say words some clever person has written. I hope that doesn't sound ungrateful because I've had a wonderful time playing Jack.
"It's just that for a long time I felt a bit of a fraud."
He added: "And it's only now, when I look back, that I see how lucky I've been."
Coronation Street's Alan Halsall has admitted that he found it difficult to film his final scenes with Bill Tarmey.
Tarmey recently filmed his last scenes as Jack Duckworth after announcing his decision to quit the soap after three decades.
"It was emotional just because I love Bill so much," Halsall, who plays Tyrone Dobbs, told Digital Spy.
"Tyrone said bye to Jack and I said bye to Bill at work and it was just no acting required - I was an emotional state that day.
"It was very difficult to film actually because I'll miss him an awful lot in work."
However, he joked: "I'll probably see him next week for a pint but I'll miss him in work!"
Speaking about his on-screen wife Molly's affair with Tyrone's best friend Kevin, Halsall said that things will get "explosive".
Asked how Tyrone will cope if he finds out that baby Jack is not his son, he added: "Tyrone is one of those guys who wears his heart on his sleeve.
"He would forgive [Molly] in a heartbeat because he wants that stable family and it could work. Whether it does or not, I don't know!"
ack finally tells Tyrone why he has been behaving so strangely in tonight's Coronation Street double bill.
The Weatherfield stalwart initially tells Connie that he cannot face the prospect of telling his good friend the truth, but following some encouragement from her, he eventually decides to open up.
Heading home, Jack has a heart-to-heart with Tyrone - who struggles to take in what he's being told.
Now that he finally knows the truth, will Tyrone be able to keep Jack's secret to himself?
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BILL Tarmey says the highlight of his 31 years playing Jack Duckworth was when he dressed up as a WOMAN.
The 69-year-old actor was turned into alter ego Ida Fagg in 2004 to play in the Rovers' ladies' bowls team.
Asked what part of Corrie he'll remember most fondly, he revealed yesterday: "I enjoyed the wig and the frock."
Referring to his fake boobs made of sand, he told ITV1's This Morning: "They had to take some sand out. I said, 'It's breaking my back!'. It was great fun, great fun."
It's hard to believe from the picture, but Jack was so convincing as a woman that his wife Vera feared he and Ida were having an affair.
Bill, who is leaving the soap due to health problems, wiped away tears yesterday after watching a montage of his time in Weatherfield.
Pigeon-lover Jack will die of cancer later this year.
And Bill said: "I'll miss everyone so much."
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/soaps/3182616/I-just-loved-being-drag-Duckworth.html#ixzz12V1LphCc
Chloe O'brien
17-10-2010, 02:56
And we will miss Jack so much. May Bill have a long and healthy retirerment from the cobbles.
ITV is to screen a special documentary paying tribute to Coronation Street legend Jack Duckworth, it has been announced.
The one-off show - titled Farewell Jack - will take a look back on the Weatherfield favourite's 30-year stint on the Street, Broadcast reports.
Airing alongside the veteran's final episode of the ITV1 soap, it is thought that the programme will feature contributions from Jack's portrayer Bill Tarmey and other members of the Corrie cast.
Diana Howie, ITV's commissioning editor for factual programming, commented: "With the full support of Bill Tarmey and the wider Coronation Street cast, we're sure this will be a hit with Corrie fans and the wider ITV1 audience."
Tarmey announced his decision to quit Coronation Street back in April and filmed his final scenes last month.
Viewers have since seen Jack telling good friend Tyrone (Alan Halsall) the tragic news that he is suffering from cancer and only has weeks left to live.
Jack Duckworth was one of Coronation Street’s most popular characters and, as the nation prepares to say goodbye to him, this one-off special pays tribute to one of the best loved figures in soap.
Bill Tarmey first stepped into the role in 1979 and went on to make the part iconic, establishing Jack as a work-shy, womanising, pigeon fancier and providing some of Coronation Street’s most memorable moments. Farewell Jack looks back at the character’s re-invention as Vince St Clair, the time he dressed up as a woman to join the ladies bowling team, and the moment when Vera served his beloved pigeons to him in the shape of a pie.
In this half-hour documentary friends and Coronation Street colleagues pay tribute to the work of Bill Tarmey and the actor shares his memories from playing one of TV’s national treasures.
JACK Duckworth will die alone on his 74th birthday, we can reveal.
In emotional scenes to be screened next month Jack will leave a party at the *Rovers and return to No 9 – the house he shared with his late wife, Vera.
And the much-loved character, who has been seen battling cancer, will pass away in the exact spot she did. Vera died in her armchair in January 2008.
The heart-wrenching episode is sure to leave Corrie fans reaching for the tissues.
Executive producer Phil Collinson says he’s proud of the storyline and the legacy left by actor Bill Tarmey, 69, who has played Jack for 31 years.
He said: “I think Bill has just been astonishing. I think it’s an amazing, beautiful, powerful story.
“It’s the sort of story that you actually should tell. It’s about a man facing up to death. That’s something we all have to do.
“Sometimes we know it is coming, sometimes we don’t, but it’s a big part of life.
“Jack is a hero to so many people.”
Liz Dawn, 69, who played battleaxe Vera, returns for Jack’s final episode.
But Phil reassures fans: “Vera doesn’t come back as a ghost. She doesn’t come *floating in on a wire or *anything like that.
“Her appearance is in context.
“It was amazing to see Liz back and was perfect that one of the last images of Jack.
Daily Star
Jack Duckworth will sing 'Wind Beneath My Wings' in his final Coronation Street scene, it has been reported.
Actor Bill Tarmey, who plays Jack, worked as a club singer before joining the Street and has sold hundreds of thousands of records. According to the Sunday Mirror, viewers will hear his version of the song during Jack's final scene.
A source said: "Every time he was asked to sing in the Street it had to be off-key. It's the ultimate irony that fans will hear his voice as it really is in Bill's final scene on November 8.
"As he lays dying in the chair where Vera passed away, Jack will be visited by his dear departed for a last dance. The song 'Wind Beneath My Wings' will play and it will be Bill singing."
Tarmey announced in April that he was leaving the soap after three decades.
Get your industrial strength tissues ready.
Jack Duckworth is bowing out of Coronation Street next week and it looks set to be quite the tear jerker.
The cancer-stricken pigeon fancier passes away in the same armchair that saw the death of his beloved Vera - but not before he learns the shocking truth about Molly's affair with Kevin.
For Bill Tarmey, who has spent three decades on the cobbles, it was all a bit much.
He told the TV Times: "It was delightful. And very moving. It was a case of 'Pass the hand towel', never mind the box of tissues. I've become a right old Jessie in my old age.
"But, you know, filming those scenes was difficult. I'm leaving my other family. I've worked with all these people for 30-odd years and it was impossible for me to act or watch the death scene and cut that off."
And if that doesn't have you bawling your eyes out, there's also the reappearance of Vera Duckworth (Liz Dawn) to look forward to.
The devoted couple will be reunited for one last time on screen, but soap bosses remain coy over how exactly Vera - who died three years ago - makes her return.
Are you welling up yet?
He's one of the few Weatherfield stalwarts left in Coronation Street.
But beloved Corrie actor Bill Tarmey will say goodbye to the ITV soap when his character Jack Duckworth is killed off in Monday's episode.
Jack ends up dying peacefully in his armchair at No.9 Coronation Street after attending his 74th birthday party at the Rovers Return pub.
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His death is particularly poignant because he passes away in the same room as his wife Vera nearly three years earlier.
Actress Liz Dawn, who played Vera, was written out of the soap in January 2008 due to ill health.
But she is expected to make a return in some form for Jack's final scenes on Monday - although soap bosses are keeping tight-lipped as to how she will appear on screen.
They have denied reports the 'ghost of Vera' will materialise in front of a dying Jack.
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Last month, Jack told his surrogate son Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall) that he had been diagnosed with an incurable form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and only had weeks to live.
He moved back into No.9 with Tyrone, his wife Molly (Vicky Binns) and their new baby, Jack, to spend the last of his life in the home he shared with Vera for so many years.
So Tyrone and Molly decided to make his last birthday a memorable one and organised a surprise party at the Rovers.
A visibly moved Jack puts aside his health issues to celebrate with his friends and reminisces over his years on the street.
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During the party, he takes Molly aside to tell her he knows about her affair with Kevin Webster after accidentally hearing the former lovers discussing the DNA test results over her baby son.
Reunited: Jack's death comes nearly three years after his wife Vera passed away
Jack urges Molly to leave Weatherfield with Tyrone and the baby so they can start afresh away from Kevin.
Feeling some pain, Jack quietly slips away from his party and returns to No.9, where he settles down on a sofa gazing at a photo of his late wife Vera.
When Molly and Tyrone return from the pub with Jack's friend Connie Rathbone (Rita May) a short time later, they are devastated to discover he has died.
Reflecting on his final scenes, which were filmed several weeks ago, Tarmey told TV Times magazine: 'It was delightful. And very moving. It was a case of "Pass the hand towel", never mind the box of tissues. I've become a right old Jessie in my old age.
'But, you know, filming those scenes was difficult. I'm leaving my other family. I've worked with all these people for 30-odd years and it was impossible for me to act or watch the death scene and cut that off.' The character of Jack first appeared in the show in 1979, but only joined the cast full-time in 1983 when he and wife Vera moved into the street, to the chagrin of their neighbours.
Long-time fans of the soap will remember Jack wasn't always so loyal to his beloved Vera after having an affair with Rovers landlady Bet Lynch (Julie Goodyear).
The couple's marriage was rocked further in 2000 when Vera confessed to Jack that she had an affair in the Sixties around the time their son Terry was born, raising questions about his paternity.
Known for his broken glasses attached via masking tape, Jack was also well known for being a pigeon-fancier and was devastated when his wife cruelly tricked him, pretending she had cooked a pigeon pie. Having a difficult relationship with their wayward son Terry, Jack finally proved himself as a father when he and Vera became surrogate parents to Tyrone in 1998 when his mother was imprisoned for assault.
Chloe O'brien
04-11-2010, 09:48
Monday it going to be a bad night, Jack passing and the end of Spooks. I better go and buy the brandy now, I've got a feeling I'm going to need it.
parkerman
04-11-2010, 09:56
I have to say that Jack doesn't seem to be very ill. He seems to be getting around OK, going out to the pub etc. Not that I know much about this sort of thing but I have known a number of people with terminal cancer and their last few weeks/months were spent in some pain, hardly being able to move let alone get out for a pint.
Sorry to raise this discordant note in what is obviously a deeply moving story but it just makes it a bit unbelievable to me....
My friend, who died of cancer a month ago was not able to leave his bed for only 3 days before he passed away, because the cancer had spread to his bones and his hips. Right up to then he went to the pub every day, enjoying a few drinks with his friends. RIP Dave
I have to say that Jack doesn't seem to be very ill. He seems to be getting around OK, going out to the pub etc. Not that I know much about this sort of thing but I have known a number of people with terminal cancer and their last few weeks/months were spent in some pain, hardly being able to move let alone get out for a pint.
Sorry to raise this discordant note in what is obviously a deeply moving story but it just makes it a bit unbelievable to me....
I had a friend who had Non Hodgkins Lymphoma. He lived life to the full up until near the end. It wasnt actually the cancer that killed him but due to all the treatment his immune system was haywire and he died from pneumonia. That said I have also watched people suffer terrible agonies dying from cancer. I think it really depends on the type of cancer as well as the treatment.
CORRIE'S Jack Duckworth kisses his beloved dead wife Vera - as he dies himself.
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Soap star Bill Tarmey's legendary character loses his cancer battle tonight, two years after the death of Vera, played by Liz Dawn.
The loveable pair are reunited for final teary scenes.
Jack, a Street favourite for 31 years, asks: "Is the place where you are now hot?"
His ashes will be scattered into the sea from Blackpool Pier - just like Vera's.
Bill, 69, received a big send-off in the Rovers Return after filming last month.
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/soaps/3216542/Reincarnation-Street.html#ixzz14fA5fXGh
Bill Tarmey's final episode as Coronation Street's Jack Duckworth has been praised by critics and viewers alike.
Earlier tonight, the long-standing character died of a heart attack in the chair that his wife Vera passed away in nearly three years earlier.
The poignant episode included a guest appearance by Tarmey's former co-star Liz Dawn, who played Vera's ghost in an emotional final scene which saw the pair dance to 'Softly As I Leave You'.
Having seemingly joined Vera in heaven, Jack's foster son Tyrone (Alan Halsall) discovered Jack, becoming tearful before saying, 'Goodnight, Dad'.
The Guardian's Mark Lawson described the scene as achieving "a depth unmatched in other drama", praising the show's writers for the "injection" of "magical realism".
Another forum's members also paid tribute to Jack, as Cinnte commented: "That ending could not have been done any better. The camera angle focusing out onto the street was an excellent touch.
"Tyrone's reaction was excellent and the importance of Jack to Tyrone was outlined brilliantly. I definitely shed a few tears."
Meanwhile, LemonadeMan said: "You know what I loved and hated the most? You see characters like Jack and Vera reunited in death and all that history.
"All that pathos, all those little character moments come back, then you realise that's it, a link to the show's history is gone."
What a brilliant episode of Corrie and a fitting farewell for one of the Streets Best Loved Characters. How poignant was it to have Liz Dawn as Our Vera appear in his final scenes. Even that was well done and not at all out of place.
Thank you Bill Tarmey for a memorable piece of Television.
Chloe O'brien
08-11-2010, 23:57
Oh I had a blubber and it was all Ken Barlow's fault. I was fine up until Jack got up to leave the pub and he turned and the camera showed Ken looking at him knowing that this what it. Then the tears rolled. I wasn't crying for Jack I was crying for all the actors who have worked alongside Bill Tarmey for all these years. How any of the cast members didn't break down was a miracle. Brilliant episode Corrie you did Jack & Vera proud.
Chris_2k11
08-11-2010, 23:58
It was all a bit contrived but still a nice ending. I liked that Tyrone called him Dad.
I lol'ed at Kevin in the pub "Curry anyone?!"
parkerman
09-11-2010, 08:18
Oh I had a blubber and it was all Ken Barlow's fault.
I thought that was such a brilliant and poignant touch. The last person Jack saw was Ken, the Street's longest survivor, holding a pint up. I have to say, knowing what was coming, I found that even more touching than his reunion with Vera and his actual death.
I wasn't as sad as I thought I would be.. thought it was very well done but did have a wee cry when Ty said "Goodnight Dad"... Love the song they played when he was dancing with Vera... I don't watch corrie but I tuned in last night
Chloe O'brien
09-11-2010, 09:41
I was the opposite when he walked out of the pub and Bill voice was singing in the background. The reality hit that there would be no more Jack Duckworth on the street.
tammyy2j
09-11-2010, 13:44
I wasn't as sad as I thought I would be.. thought it was very well done but did have a wee cry when Ty said "Goodnight Dad"... Love the song they played when he was dancing with Vera... I don't watch corrie but I tuned in last night
I kinda expected it to be alot sadder also
Anyways will Terry and maybe Curly and his grandkids be back for his funeral?
Bill Tarmey has admitted that it was sad watching his final appearance on Coronation Street.
Over 11m viewers watched saw Jack Duckworth reunited with his wife Vera as he passed away last night.
"I've never asked to be shown anything that I've done until it came out but I was given the chance to watch it and I did and I found it delightful," Tarmey told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
Speaking about Liz Dawn's brief return for the dream-like sequence in which Vera reappeared three years after her own death, Tarmey said it was "strangely lovely" working with her again.
He continued: "I mean she's been gone nearly three years but it was as if she'd never been away. It was delightful. Very sad, especially for me, but delightfully done."
inkyskin
09-11-2010, 23:10
I cried like a baby..Jack reminds me of my dad and my mum died 10 years ago and he still misses her after all that time,we have her ashes and when my dad dies he wants to be cremated and mixed together with mum and scattered....so it really got to me,but i knew it would, 1st time i've ever cried at a soap opera...but i thought it was lovely.
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NEARLY 12million people saw Bill Tarmey's last scene as Corrie's Jack Duckworth - but the actor wasn't one of them.
Bill, 69 - who played pigeon-lover Jack for three decades - was stuck in traffic so had to watch a recording when he got home on Monday.
He said: "I was in London and the traffic was horrendous, so my darling wife recorded it for me."
The tearful last scene saw Jack reunited with his late wife Vera (Liz Dawn) before dying.
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/soaps/3219696/Bill-Tarmey-had-to-tape-his-exit.html#ixzz14puSJJPu
Kym Marsh has confessed that she was moved to tears during filming of Bill Tarmey's final scenes on Coronation Street.
Tarmey's last appearance on the ITV soap, which aired on Monday, saw his character Jack Duckworth reunited with late wife Vera in a dream sequence as he passed away.
"It was so lovely. I think I'd have had to be a robot not to have shed a tear," Marsh - who plays Michelle Connor - told PA.
"And I loved the little dance and when she told him he looked scruffy. It was classic Jack and Vera - so it was sad but [there] was a little happy twist to it. It was classic Coronation Street."
She went on to reveal that the entire cast are struggling to cope with Tarmey's departure after three decades on the show.
"When we all found out Bill was leaving we were really upset. We'd lost Liz Dawn not long before that, she'd wanted to leave and then we were losing Jack as well. It was like, 'Oh my God, Jack and Vera, they've gone'," Marsh explained.
"It was the end of an era for Coronation Street. It was a sad day when he left and he'll be missed. He's such a nice man."
More pronouncements from the publicity seeking Ms Marsh
Coronation Street's series producer Phil Collinson has explained why the soap decided to feature deceased character Vera Duckworth in her husband Jack's final episode.
Earlier this week, 11.6m viewers watched as Vera appeared before Jack as the Weatherfield legend passed away peacefully at home.
The special scene saw Liz Dawn reprise her popular role nearly three years on from Vera's own death scene.
Speaking of Vera's reappearance on screen, Collinson is quoted by PA as saying: "It's something I've heard a lot. People say, 'When my mother was dying she saw my father', or 'When my grandmother was dying she said she saw her mother'.
"It's a story I've heard a few people say. We're storytellers at the end of the day. Yes, it's Coronation Street and yes it reflects real life, but we're storytellers.
"I suppose a little romantic in me would like to imagine that somebody comes at the end for us all who we love. And it somehow made Jack's exit so much more epic and about more than just a man who lived in a back street, and yet that's all it was about."
Bill Tarmey, who played Jack for over 30 years, recently described the character's final episode as "delightful".
Chloe O'brien
10-11-2010, 09:48
More pronouncements from the publicity seeking Ms Marsh
How long do you think it will be before she wants Harry Pearce's job in Spooks.
A spoof Twitter account has been set up featuring messages from the ghost of Coronation Street legend Jack Duckworth.
Last week, over 11m viewers watched as Jack died peacefully at home following a period of ill health, leaving his loved ones devastated.
However, an unknown fan has now taken on the popular role on the Twitter account @GhostOfJack, which was launched last Sunday.
In the spirit's first online message, he wrote: "Hello Corrie fans everywhere. Yes it's me, Jack from the other side of the Pennines. All is good, I've just had Sunday dinner with our Vera."
Later, he added: "I'm gagging for a pint, Vera won't mind if I nip back down t'Rovers for a swift half, and maybe a lock in."
'Jack' has since posted dozens more messages, interacting with followers and providing updates on his daily activities.
Earlier today, he commented: "Our V won't shut up about this Royal engagement. I'm off t'feed pigeons & nip into The Rovers for a swift half, she'll never know!"
@GhostOfJack has so far attracted more than 300 followers on the social networking site.
IT should have been one of those humorous episodes that distinguishes Coronation Street from other too often doom-laden soaps – Jack Duckworth offering some father figure wisdom to young mechanic Tyrone Dobbs, who he regarded as the son he never had.
Yet as the scene was shot, it became apparent to Alan Halsall, the actor who plays Tyrone, as well as other cast members, that something was wrong. Tears were coursing down the cheeks of Bill Tarmey who, as Jack, had become one of the Street’s longest-serving and best-loved characters in more than 30 years on the show.
Only a few of the cast, including Halsall, were later let in on Bill’s secret – and it is something he has never spoken about publicly until now: just hours before he arrived on set to film that scene he had learnt his son Carl was suffering from a brain tumour.
“Trying to learn the script was a nightmare and I found it impossible to talk about it,” says Bill, 69. “There is no doubt that what happened had an influence on me deciding to leave the Street when I did.”
Bill left the ITV1 soap in November 2010 in a tear-jerking episode when Jack died in his sleep at the home he had shared with his battleaxe wife Vera, when they were one of the most popular couples on TV. It was said at the time that Bill was leaving because of his own health problems.
We want more awareness of the illness and the dangers of brain tumours
Bill Tarmey:
Today, Carl, 44, takes his life day by day and is grateful for the time he has with his wife Sandra, their three adult children, and a recent new grandson, who of course makes Bill a great-grandfather.
But as they gather in the home of Bill and Alma, his wife of 49 years, near Manchester, the family remembers the darkest days when Carl was first diagnosed. That is why they are speaking about it, to raise funds for the charity Brain Tumour Research.
The nightmare began at the start of 2009 when Carl, who runs the March Hare pub with Sandra near his parents’ home, suffered a sudden seizure in his car. He had received his first inkling that something was wrong four days previously.
“I was eating a bowl of soup and I couldn’t find my mouth with the spoon. It was really strange – like my co-ordination had disappeared – but after two minutes I was all right.
“Four days later I was in the car on the way to the cash and carry and I couldn’t find the gear stick – and when I did I kept putting the car into reverse. It felt like I was being hit by a bus; I thought, ‘I’m dying’.”
Despite his condition, Carl had the presence of mind to ring Sandra. She raced to the scene, to find him slumped over the steering wheel. He was taken to hospital and then transferred to the specialist neurological unit at Salford’s Hope Hospital, where surgeons decided to operate after tests revealed a shadow on Carl’s brain.
They performed a craniotomy – that removed some of the growth but failed to eliminate all of the cancerous and aggressive tumour they discovered. Months of radiation and chemotherapy treatment followed.
Bill’s wife Alma recalls: “We all cried and talked about it but Bill found it hard to show his feelings. He felt he had to remain strong for the sake of the rest of us, but it was taking a terrible toll on him inside.”
Bill agrees. “I remember being at Carl’s bedside saying to him, ‘Come on son, we can come through this – we are lions!’ – then going home and shouting at God, ‘Why me?’
“I’m not religious but I do believe and I sat there arguing with God. And I prayed – oh, how I prayed.
“But there was a stage when I thought I was losing it, and then there I was at work on the set bursting into tears. Alan realised something was wrong and I confided in him but I kept the whole thing from most people.”
Doctors told Carl his life expectancy could be anything between one and five years. Meanwhile the tumour continued to grow alarmingly. The family was told that another operation would be required – only for their hopes to be dashed when it was cancelled at the last minute. A medical panel ruled against the advice of Carl’s surgeon, saying that a further op would not improve his condition.
But the medical experts had not reckoned on his wife Sandra’s determination to fight for her husband’s life. She learned everything she could about his illness and travelled around the country with him to seek second opinions. Their persistence paid off: the Salford hospital finally agreed to conduct further surgery.
Surgeons warned the couple that the second operation risked damaging spinal nerves that could leave Carl paralysed. But Sandra says now: “That did not matter. We agreed between us that he did not need his arms; if he lost them I would be his arms. What was more important was that I still had Carl alive with us.”
The operation took place in September 2009, and five days later Carl left hospital, to begin six months of further chemotherapy. Surgeons informed him that more of the tumour had successfully been removed.
“My co-ordination was still poor and the family joked that they were going to buy me shinpads for Christmas because I was forever bumping into things,” says Carl.
In the first half of last year, the family at last received some good news. “I was lying in bed and heard all this screaming and shouting downstairs,” Carl recalls. “I thought we must have won the lottery – but it was better than that. It was a letter from the hospital saying that the tumour was actually reducing in size.”
Today, Carl continues to receive treatment for his condition. His father Bill says now: “It has been a traumatic experience but I do not think we could be any closer as a family. We’ve realised how supportive all our friends are and the customers at Carl’s pub. It restores your faith in your fellow man.”
Alma agrees. “It’s made us say ‘I love you’ a lot more.”
While Bill praises the cast and staff at Coronation Street for their support, he agrees that Carl’s condition led him to call time on his career playing Jack sooner than he might otherwise have done. “I felt I was better at home rather than at work. I felt I could do more,” he says.
He recalls sitting up late into the night with his daughter-in-law Sandra. “She’d say, ‘Don’t you start crying,’ and I’d say, ‘Don’t you start then’, and then we’d both be crying into our drinks.”
Doctors have told Carl that there is every chance he will live for another five years – and hopefully beyond. He accepts that.
The family are now seeking to raise funds for Brain Tumour Research, which funds research and raises awareness of an illness that kills more men under 45 and women under 35 than any other cancer in this country.
Today is Wear A Hat Day for the charity, and Carl and his family will celebrate it at their pub with a special fund-raiser.
It will feature the scary prospect of Bill Tarmey in drag with a blonde wig as Ida Fag – reviving a Coronation Street storyline from 2004, when Jack dressed up as a character of that name to be a “ringer’ for the Rovers Return’s ladies bowling team. Locks of Bill’s own hair will later be auctioned online to raise funds.
“I will be making a prat of myself, but that’s all right,” says Bill. “We want more awareness of the illness and the dangers of brain tumours.
“If wearing a blonde wig and having my hair cut is the price I have to pay to have my son still with me, then that’s no price at all.”
l Brain Tumour Research is the UK’s largest dedicated research charity. To make a donation readers should send cheques payable to Brain Tumour Research to: Brain Tumour Research, The Business Centre, Padbury Hill Farm, Padbury, Buckingham, Bucks MK18 2BN. Telephone: 01296-733011
Read more: http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/236676/Bill-Tarmey-The-shocking-truth-about-why-I-really-left-Coronation-StreetBill-Tarmey-The-shocking-truth-about-why-I-really-left-Coronation-Street#ixzz1Hbo1S8yY
Coronation Street star Bill Tarmey has revealed that he needs urgent heart surgery.
The actor, who played Jack Duckworth for 31 years, has been told that he needs a new pacemaker fitted with a defibrillator to kick-start his heart in case it stops.
The news comes after he suffered a series of dizzy spells and fainting, The People reports. Doctors have warned Tarmey, currently holidaying in Tenerife, to quit smoking and continue resting.
He said: "I'm deeply worried. I have cheated death so many times I feel like a cat running out of lives. I'm used to being out of breath but this is something different. I could be dead tomorrow.
"I want to live day to day and enjoy it. I've got to have surgery as soon as I return home. I've had my chest opened so many times it might be better to put in a zip-fastener.
"I've already died twice and the last time they brought me back to life using a medical version of jump leads."
The former soap star recently admitted that he feels helpless for his son Carl, who is suffering from a brain tumor.
:(
Chloe O'brien
08-05-2011, 16:55
What a sin poor Bill. I hope his health improves. It may be difficult for him to stop smoking after being a smoker for so many years but we can only hope that him and his son Carl pull through from the terrible illnesses that they are both suffering.
CORRIE legend Bill Tarmey has revealed he feels guilty about the show's tram crash killing off his co-stars - as it was HIS idea.
Bill, 70, who played layabout Jack Duckworth for 31 years until last year, suggested the disaster as a joke to the soap's boss.
Since then the TV deaths of Ashley Peacock (Steven Arnold) and Molly Dobbs (Vicky Binns) have been on his conscience.
He told how he inadvertently sealed their fate as he discussed his own exit from the ITV1 show with producer Phil Collinson.
Writing in the new paperback version of his life story - Jack Duckworth And Me - Bill revealed: "Phil asked me if there was any particular way I'd like to be written out of the show. I hadn't given it any thought as I wasn't expecting the question.
"I said jokingly that I could come out of Dev's shop and get squished by a derailed tram.
"I told Phil he could get rid of a few others at the same time in the fatal crash. I thought he realised I wasn't serious.
"It was while I was preparing for Jack's death that I read to my horror about a tram crash that was going to cause death and destruction in Weatherfield. I'd realised that I'd sown the seeds of a plot in Phil Collinson's mind. Instead of using a tram crash to kill me off, he had decided to take my idea and use it for the deaths of others.
"It's a burden I'll have to take to the grave."
Bill went on: "I just hope the victims of the tram crash will forgive me for opening my big gob.
"There must have been cast and colleagues under sentence of death who thought, 'Thanks a lot, Tarmey'.
Luckily, I was out of there before the dead men walking discovered my casual suggestion to Phil had been taken to heart." Last year's disaster - screened as part of a live episode - was one of the most extravagant storylines in the soap's history.
It saw The Joinery explode, destroying the viaduct, which then sent a tram crashing into Dev's shop.
Ashley, Molly and an unknown cabbie were killed as a result of the accident, which was watched by a huge 13million viewers.
Bill, who left the soap for health reasons, said from his luxury villa in Tenerife: "I was especially embarrassed that Ashley and Molly were selected as victims.
"I thought Steve Arnold had built up a likeable character in Ashley and the viewers will miss him.
"As far as Vicky was concerned, I used to call her 'my little girl'. She was married to Tyrone so that made her part of Jack's family." Lovable rogue Jack had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma - a form of cancer that strikes the white blood cells.
ITV More than 11million viewers saw the final moving scenes of him reunited with his battleaxe wife Vera as he died in his armchair.
Leaving the Street was heartbreaking for Bill.
He said shortly after his November exit: "Very sad, especially for me, but delightfully done."
And he admitted he had no idea where his career might take him after his long stint in the soap. He said: "I've never made a plan in my life - it is like being in a bus queue and somebody pushing you on the bus and you're thinking, 'Where the hell's this going? It's OK, I'll go with it'.
"I'd like to do voiceovers and telly adverts would be OK. And something in an older era dressed up like a gardener most likely."
Bill Tarmey's autobiography, Jack Duckworth And Me, is out now.
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/soaps/3577935/Tram-disaster-was-my-idea-I-feel-so-guilty-about-deaths.html#ixzz1MClXjPNf
CORRIE legend Bill Tarmey added a Star Trek tribute as his character Jack Duckworth died - without telling the ITV1 soap's bosses.
The Trekkie inserted a line used by Captain James T Kirk as he died in the film Star Trek: Generations.
Bill, whose final scenes were watched by more than 11 million fans last November, said: "According to the script I was supposed to say 'I'm tired, Vera'. But I couldn't resist making a minor addition to my farewell speech.
"I've been a lifelong fan of Star Trek since it first appeared and I remembered the last words of Captain James T Kirk.
"As he took his final breath, he said, 'Oh my,' as if death was another great adventure. As a dedicated Trekkie, I decided to pay my own tribute to Captain Kirk and his crew by adding those words."
Bill, 70, who played the character for more than 30 years, added in a new version of his autobiography Jack Duckworth And Me: "I didn't tell anybody what I was planning to do or why.
"I thought I'd see if I could get away with it - and I did.
"So I changed the dialogue and said, 'Oh my. I'm getting tired now, Vera'."
Viewers then saw Liz Dawn appear as Vera in front of him, saying: "Well, put the paper down and come with me."
Bill added: "It was a sad moment for me when Captain Kirk jossed it. His final words clearly made a big impact on me."
He recently admitted that he found it hard to stay still after dying in his chair as a Matt Monro song played in the background.
Bill said: "A stagehand had to tell me to stop tapping my toe to the music. Then another one had to tell me to stop tapping my fingers."
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/soaps/3609109/Jack-Duckworth-nicked-Star-Trek-line-for-his-Corrie-death.html#ixzz1Nu10J4dM
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(c) The Sun
Former Coronation Street star Bill Tarmey has revealed he still wakes up thinking he needs to learn his lines for the soap.
The 70-year-old actor played Jack Duckworth in the show for 31 years until he left in 2010 to spend more time with his family, and 45-year-old son Carl, who was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2009.
Bill said: "I miss Jack of course. I used to always wake up at 5.30am and read my script and I'm still waking up at the same time but panicking because I can't find the script.
"Then I realise I'm retired. I don't regret my decision to quit - it's just probably going to take me another 30 years to get used to the fact that I'm not on the Street!"
Bill's son Carl has had two operations on his tumour. Although the procedures have been successful, Carl remains on medication and is unable to work. He will have to wait three to five years before he can be finally given the all-clear.
Bill said: "I always thought they'd have to drag me kicking and screaming off the Street because I loved it so much, but his diagnosis was such a shock.
"Even though I carried on working, I'd break down in tears sometimes on set. As a professional I felt that wasn't fair on my colleagues and I knew it was finally time to go.
"I had the most amazing 31 years playing Jack. Because of him I've made fantastic friends and travelled all over the world. I was persuaded to stay for the 50th anniversary and said goodbye after that as I needed to be with my family and Carl."
:: Bill is a patron of Brain Tumour Research. For more information, visit www.braintumourresearch.org.
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