Coronation Street's Vera Duckworth is to die in a tear-jerking New Year plotline, it has been revealed.
Liz Dawn – who has played Vera for 33 years – will film her final scenes with the ITV soap at the end of the year.
Three alternative death scenes have been written, but filming of only one script will take place in a closed-set environment and viewers will only learn of her fate when the episode airs in January.
The decision to kill off such an iconic character came after long, extensive meetings between Corrie's executive producer Kieran Roberts, producer Steve Frost and Liz herself.
It was decided that an emotional and dramatic finale for the character would be far more justifiable than her leaving the Street and returning for the odd re-appearance throughout the ensuing years.