One of Coronation Street ‘s most beloved characters has died, completely blindsiding the actor playing her.
Denise Black has been an icon of the Street for years, coming in and out of the ITV soap for relevant storylines. Taking on the role of Denise Osbourne on the soap, she was best known as Daniel Osbourne’s mother, and the ex-wife of stalwart Ken Barlow.
Black first arrived on the cobbles in 1992, playing the role of Ken Barlow’s wife Denise Osbourne. She stayed on the show for five years, during which time she was brought into some of the show’s darkest storylines yet, before leaving in 1997.
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However, this would not be the last that we had seen of Denise in Weatherfield, as some ten years later, Denise would make a surprise return. She would stay on the Street for another decade, before tapping out again in 2017, 25 years after her first appearance on the show.
(Image: ITV)
Since then, Denise has not been seen or heard of, despite son Daniel going through some momentous occasions in his life, such as the death of his wife Sinéad, and the birth of Denise’s grandson Bertie. Now, Denise has been given an answer as to why – ITV bosses decided to secretly kill off the character, leaving Denise furious.
Taking to her Facebook account, the actress admitted she was shocked to learn of the news not by bosses, but by a fan. She wrote: “So I’m taking a walk and I meet a lady who said ‘I know who you are’ and we get chatting and then she says ‘you’re dead’. WTF?!”
She added: “Apparently Denise Osbourne died a few years ago – I am completely gutted. I looked everywhere on google and nowhere I can find does it say she’s dead, but if Daniel inherited 400k I guess that’s game over. Ouch!!”
(Image: Denise Black/Instagram)
Black went on to look back at her time on the show with fondness. She finished off her post: “God, I loved working on Corrie. Brilliant job, forever grateful.”
This is not the first time that Denise’s character has been killed off in a soap. In 2017, whilst starring in rival ITV soap Emmerdale, Denise’s character Joanie Wright died after learning that her marriage to Zak Dingle was over and he had patched things up with then-wife Lisa.
Joanie joined the soap in 2013 as the new legal guardian for Cain Dingle and Amy Wyatt’s child Kyle. After moving to the village, a bitter custody battle erupted between the Kyle’s parents and Joanie, but a deal was eventually done to allow Amy the chance to see her child.
(Image: PA)
Denise has starred in a host of other well-known TV and film projects. She was also spotted in the new adaptation of LGBTQ+ drama Queer as Folk, as well as stints on The Bill and A Touch of Frost.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
