Coronation Street star Lynne Verrall has died aged 76.
The actress - who had a long-spanning career across theatre and TV - starred as Geraldine Spellman on Coronation Street from 2017 - 2018.
Verrall, who had motor neurone disease, passed away in Paris on November 8.
“Lynne was always ready to try any role, to grow and learn and develop,” her agent Samantha Boyd told The Stage. “She embraced life to the full.”
An MND fundraising page has also been set up in her memory.
“Our dear friend Lynne faced MND with her trademark wit and courage — and even in the toughest moments, she never lost her spark (or her sense of humour),” the page reads.
“In true Lynne fashion, she even left a gift in her will to ARSLA, the MND association here in Paris, to help others facing this awful illness.
“If you’d like to honour her memory — and give this disease the middle finger (ARSLA’s brilliant campaign slogan!) — you might consider a small donation to support their work.
“I can just imagine Lynne laughing at that and saying, ‘that’s the spirit — don’t make a fuss, but thank you, darling’.”
Verrall appeared in Corrie from June 2017 to March 2018.
She had been living in Paris since 2012, and appeared in several short films as a sophisticated English woman.
Her friend Sue Dunderdale told The Stage: “She faced [MND] with incredible courage. She was extraordinary. She remained in Paris because she’d been happy there. She created this wonderful persona of an eccentric, charming Englishwoman.”
The actress trained at Birmingham School of Acting, before then embarking on a theatre career, touring with the New Shakespeare Company and Pentabus.
Verrall then went on to have roles on TV in the 1970s and 1980s, including Bill Brand and Hard Cases.
The Stage writes that “one of her stand-out stage memories was playing Anna in Carrie Cracknell’s revival of A Doll’s House at London’s Young Vic in 2012, which was also filmed for streaming”.
Her last role before she was diagnosed with MND was as Kelly Reilly’s mother in the 2023 comedy-drama Greek Salad, directed by Cédric Klapisch.
