MAGGIE JONES:MAGGIE JONES, who has died aged 75, will be remembered for many years to come for her role as the sharp-tongued battle-axe Blanche Hunt in the television soap, Coronation Street.
She won several comedy awards for her portrayal as the mother of fellow character Deirdre Barlow, with her withering put-downs and cutting one-liners.
Jones was born in London and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. She made her Coronation Streetdebut in the 1960s as a policewoman and bosses saw her potential, giving her another guest appearance as a shoplifter.
She landed the role as the straight-talking Blanche in August 1974 and a Coronation Streetlegend was born. Blanche's acerbic tongue and trademark scowl gave the show some of its most memorable moments.
Viewers were captivated by her strained but loving relationship with Deirdre, played by Anne Kirkbride, and her son-in-law Ken Barlow, played by Bill Roache.
The caustic pensioner once said to her daughter: “Good looks are a curse, Deirdre. You and Kenneth should count yourselves lucky.”
Roache paid tribute to her, calling her a “tower of strength” and a “brilliant actress”.
“Maggie was a big part of the Barlow family and a brilliant actress. She was a tower of strength, physically frail but mentally strong as an ox and sharp as someone half her age.
“I don’t think Maggie ever realised how much she was loved, not only by everyone on the show but by the millions of Blanche fans out there. She will be greatly missed.”
Never shy to voice her opinion on Weatherfield’s residents, Blanche described Liz McDonald as having a “skirt no bigger than a belt, too much eyeliner and roots as dark as her soul”.
She said of her character: “Everyone knows someone like Blanche – or if they don’t, they wish they did. We’d all like to be as outspoken as her and have the nerve to say the things she does.”
Her TV work also included The Barchester Chronicles, The Beiderbecke Tapes, Sharon and Elsie, We'll Think of Something and The Nesbitts Are Coming.
Maggie Jones: born June 21st, 1934; died December 2nd, 2009