Coronation Street star admits wedding was 'worst day of her life'

Coronation Street icon Liz Dawn is best remembered for her unforgettable role as the loud and flighty Vera Duckworth, who was widely regarded as one half of the best couple in TV history alongside Jack (played by Bill Tarmey). After more than 30 years of endearing storylines and cementing her place as a Weatherfield icon, Vera's exit played out in 2008 as the character died peacefully after a long battle with emphysema, a lung condition.

The unforgettable emotional episode drew in more than 12 million viewers as the actress bowed out from Corrie for good. However, before her successful career as a soap star, Dawn had lived as a penniless single mother before meeting her husband, and due to financial difficulties, they had an extremely frugal wedding. After leaving school at 15, the actress got married three years later to her first husband, coal miner Walter Bradley and welcomed their first child, a son, Graham.

Their relationship didn't work, as Dawn became a single mother at 20 and struggled to make ends meet when she met her second husband, Don Ibbotson, during a night out at the pub.

They hit it off and by January 1965, she was pregnant with the eldest of their three daughters and they tied the knot at Leeds' Registry Office.

The actress previously admitted that it was "one of the worst days of her life," and recalled: "We had our 'reception' in Lewis' restaurant on the top floor, just the six of us [both their parents].

Dawn added: "There was a pantomime on it Leeds at the time and the waitress looked at us all dressed up and asked 'Are you going to the Pantomime? 'No,' I said 'We've just been.'"

After joining the cobbles in 1974, asked to be written out after 34 years to focus on her health after battling depression, suicidal thoughts and alcoholism.

In addition to getting her health back on track, Dawn focused on her charitable contributions and, campaigned for former politician Tamsin Dunwoody in 2008, and appeared at rallies with Tony Blair before he became Prime Minister.

The actress also became an ambassador for the British Lung Foundation following her own father's demise to lung cancer and helped raise £1million for St James' Hospital's Breast Cancer appeal in Leeds.

In 2000, Dawn was made an MBE for her services to charity, which marked her second time meeting Queen Elisabeth, as the late monarch had previously made a set visit in 1982.

Dawn died in September 2017, surrounded by her family, having previously been diagnosed with emphysema in 2000 and suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).