Perdita
15-10-2016, 04:45
Coronation Street legend Jean Alexander, best known for her role as Hilda Ogden, has passed away at the age of 90.
She was admitted to hospital on Tuesday (October 11), also the day of her 90th birthday, after taking ill, and died peacefully in her sleep earlier today (October 14).
The actress's niece, Sonia Hearld, told of her shock at the news, adding that Jean had been feeling ill over the weekend when the family came together to celebrate her birthday.
"She had been feeling a little poorly and had gone in for some tests," she told The Mirror. "But on Tuesday she was still not too good and it was decided she might be better going back into hospital."
http://digitalspyuk.cdnds.net/16/41/768x1056/gallery-soaps-corrie-jean-alexander.jpg
Jean Alexander
© REX/Tim Rooke
Jean Alexander in 2010
Jean played the character of Hilda on the soap for 23 years between 1964 and 1987, and briefly reprised the role in one-off appearances in 1990 and 1998.
Hilda quickly became one of the best-known of all the regular characters, and has often been considered by Corrie fans to be the soap's most popular of all time - as well as being instantly recognisable with her trademark hair curlers and pinny.
Jean's role won her a 1987 BAFTA TV Award nomination for Best Actress, and the Royal Television Society Award in 1985. Her final scenes in the Rovers Return were watched by more than 27 million viewers, and Jean ultimately retired from acting in 2012.
RIP Jean
Digital Spy
She was admitted to hospital on Tuesday (October 11), also the day of her 90th birthday, after taking ill, and died peacefully in her sleep earlier today (October 14).
The actress's niece, Sonia Hearld, told of her shock at the news, adding that Jean had been feeling ill over the weekend when the family came together to celebrate her birthday.
"She had been feeling a little poorly and had gone in for some tests," she told The Mirror. "But on Tuesday she was still not too good and it was decided she might be better going back into hospital."
http://digitalspyuk.cdnds.net/16/41/768x1056/gallery-soaps-corrie-jean-alexander.jpg
Jean Alexander
© REX/Tim Rooke
Jean Alexander in 2010
Jean played the character of Hilda on the soap for 23 years between 1964 and 1987, and briefly reprised the role in one-off appearances in 1990 and 1998.
Hilda quickly became one of the best-known of all the regular characters, and has often been considered by Corrie fans to be the soap's most popular of all time - as well as being instantly recognisable with her trademark hair curlers and pinny.
Jean's role won her a 1987 BAFTA TV Award nomination for Best Actress, and the Royal Television Society Award in 1985. Her final scenes in the Rovers Return were watched by more than 27 million viewers, and Jean ultimately retired from acting in 2012.
RIP Jean
Digital Spy