Bill Tarmey, Coronation Street's Jack Duckworth, Sadly Dies

a statement from the actors family read. Another statement from the ITV soap read:

"The cast, crew and production team at Coronation Street are devastated to hear of Bill's death. Our thoughts and prayers are with Bill's wife and soulmate Ali and their family at this very sad time."

Tarmey joined the Coronation Street cast on 28th November 1979, and endured a turbulent but long-lasting marriage with Vera Duckworth (Elizabeth Dawn) as well as a damaged relationship with his troublesome son Terry, who famously sold his son in a controversial storyline. On 8th November 2010, Tarmey made his final appearance on the soap, having cut down on filming over the years due to ailing health issues. Jack died in his armchair (below) at his old Coronation Street house, following a birthday party at the Rovers, and in his final death scene he sees visions of Vera, which Dawn returned to film after her own on screen death in 2008. Tarmey, a life-long heavy smoker, had a series of health scares throughout his life. He suffered his second heart attack in 2002, and was consequently fitted with a pacemaker, and once stated he "died twice". In 2002, Tarmey said:

"I'm deeply worried. I have cheated death so many times I feel like a cat running out of lives. I've already died twice and the last time they brought me back to life using a medical version of jump leads."

Despite his health issues, he refused to pack in the habbit of a lifetime - smoking.

"I could make it easier on myself. I could give up smoking. I could go and sit in a rocking chair. "But that wouldn't be me. That would kill me sooner than the old ticker would."

Jack's storylines in the soap focused on his long-standing marriage to his wife Vera which was complex and at times described as "rocky". Other storylines included coping with his wayward son Terry and his hobby for pigeon keeping. His character died of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Tarmey once said:

"People often ask me if I like Jack Duckworth and I always reply, 'Like him, I bloody love him!' I have had the most amazing 30 years playing Jack."