Corrie's tragic real-life health battles – cancer, miscarriage and sudden death

Coronation Street cast members may be known for their incredible portrayal of heartbreaking storylines but their own lives can often be just as dramatic away from the cameras.

Away from the cobbled streets of Weatherfield, Manchester, the cast live normal lives and often share their struggles with social media followers and raise awareness during television interviews.

While their characters’ struggles may be spoken about on a more regular occurrence, the stars hope to inspire fans by sharing their own health battles.

Daily Star has delved into the archives to share some of the devastating realities the cast members have faced over the last few years.

Gray O’Brien

Scottish actor Gray O’Brien shared his devastating news with his Twitter followers back in November 2019.

The star who played Tony Gordon on the programme between 2007 and 2010 made his last appearance on the programme on this day in 2010.

Gray kept his diagnosis a secret from his followers and celebrity pals before going public after undergoing intensive treatment for tonsil cancer.

Sharing his diagnosis, Gray said: “About 3 months ago a trip to the doctors with swollen glands led to stage four tonsil cancer.

“Today marks the end of my treatment & I couldn’t be more thankful to everyone who has supported me along the way.”

Nowadays, Gray is the picture of health and frequently updates fans on his various treks up mountains.

Anne Kirkbride

At the age of 39, Kirkbride found a lump on her neck on the day of her mother’s funeral in 1993 and the lump ended up being a non-Hodgkins lymphoma which is a form of cancer.

Anne took some crucial time off from Coronation Street to deal with her health before she returned after receiving the all-clear from doctors.

But after her treatment had finished, she revealed that she was suffering from depression which was “worse than the cancer”.

Years later, Anne contracted breast cancer before taking time off the famous ITV soap to focus on her health.

The fan favourite died aged 60 in a Manchester hospital after her cancer had metastasised to her brain.

She was rushed to the hospital after suffering from a stroke and her family were told she had just 24 hours to live.

Executive producer Kieran Roberts said: “There are no words to describe the sense of grief we feel at Anne’s passing. We know only too acutely how much Anne meant to the millions of people who watched her create the legendary character of Deirdre Barlow.”

Maggie Jones

Famed for not taking any prisoners and telling people how it was, Maggie’s character Blanche Hunt was a firm favourite amongst fans,

Two months before her tragic death, Blanche made her final appearance on the cobbles as she revealed some drunken home truths.

The actress had been written out of the soap to recover from a major operation in October of 2009 but the reason for her surgery was never disclosed.

On December 2, a spokesperson for Maggie said she had “passed away peacefully”.

The spokesperson said: “Maggie had been making a slow recovery but her condition deteriorated early Wednesday morning and she passed away peacefully in her sleep.”

Rob Mallard

Actor Rob Mallard who has played Daniel Osbourne on the programme has previously spoken about his struggles with essential tremors.

The 29-year-old first shared the news of his condition on This Morning and revealed he had attempted to keep it under wraps amid feats it would impact his chances of being cast for work.

Rob told Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield: “My solution has been to hide and manage.

“Because of the job that I’m in, it can have a detrimental effect on my ability to get cast and then it was exposed on TV,” after people noticed his head shaking in an interview.

Last month, Rob sang the praises after a “game-changing” and “amazing” new treatment was unveiled at the Walton Centre which targets areas of the brain that causes tremors.

Jane Danson

Actress Jane Danson previously revealed that she suffered a heartbreaking miscarriage back in 2018.

The star and her husband Robert Beck tragically lost their baby during the first trimester, before Jane bravely shared her story on a Channel 5 documentary.

Through tears, she said: “At our 12 week scan, I remember lying down and the consultant said, ‘I won’t turn the screen around’, then the room went really quiet and I just knew that something wasn’t right.

“My heart sank because I knew that it had gone wrong, that the baby had died and then they confirmed that.”

Jane told OK! Magazine: “It was heartbreaking and it took us a long time to get over it – I don’t think you ever do.

“There will always be that sadness there and there’ll always be that desire, but we’re getting older now and the boys are growing up, sometimes you just have to appreciate what you have.”

Kate Ford

Weatherfield’s resident baddie, Tracy Barlow has terrorised the neighbourhood over the years but Kate revealed earlier this year that her body was also suffering.

Taking to Instagram, the 45-year-old shared a snap of herself wearing a large ITV studios coat as she took a break from filming in the soap,

Kate said: “Filming #itvcorrie this was a few weeks ago at a time that I was struggling with my #endometriosis, luckily got lots of support x.

“Just sending a hug out to all those struggling with similar.”

Her post was flooded with messages of support from pals and co-stars.

Endometriosis is a condition where tissue that is similar to the lining of the uterus begins to grow in places such as the ovaries and fallopian tubes.

Jack James Ryan

Actor Jack was just 19 when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer after discovering a lump.

The 24-year-old told ITV’s Lorraine that he didn’t know men could be diagnosed with cancer at such a young age.

He said: “I went in to have one of my testicles removed and I had a replacement put in there and then had a little bit of chemo afterwards – but because I caught it so early on, I was super lucky with the treatments.”

Discussing any symptoms, he continued: “To be honest I didn’t have any symptoms and then I found the lump and thought this is serious.

“There is such a stigma with testicular cancer so making that first step to go to the hospital is nerve-wracking and it’s embarrassing but because I did it so quick it meant that the treatment was really great.”

Jack underwent treatment after his diagnosis in 2017 and had an operation to remove a testicle which was replaced by a prosthetic.

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk