19:57 16 October 2016
Coronation Street legend Jean Alexander, known to millions as Hilda Ogden, passed away peacefully just three days after 90th birthday.
According to reports, she fell ill on Tuesday – her birthday – and had been taken into hospital.
Her niece, Sonia Hearld, who received a phone call from the hospital about the bad news, said: “She had been feeling a little poorly and had gone in for some tests.” She added that the star was allowed back to care home after a couple of days in hospital. “But on Tuesday she was still not too good and it was decided she might be better going back into hospital.”
She added yesterday: “She recovered well and was back in her own home. But it got to the point she was having problems with her mobility and getting down to the shops.
“So it was decided she would be better off where she would have someone to care for her.
“But she was still fully independent and always said she was going to go back to her own home.
“She was well but she sometimes needed a little help walking, she would lean on people for support.”