'I miss him terribly'

Coronation Street veteran Liz Dawn has opened up for the first time about her grief following the death of her popular co-star Bill Tarmey, saying: 'I know he'll be waiting for me at the gates of heaven'.
The 73-year-old, who played Vera Duckworth alongside Bill as her husband, said she 'cried for days' after hearing the sad news but says she was comforted by the thought that Bill, who died aged 71, was finally at peace.
She added: 'Bill was my best friend and I loved him dearly. I will never meet anybody so kind and generous. He had the heart of a lion and I miss him terribly'.

Dynamic duo: Former Coronation Street star Liz Dawn gives an emotional account of her grief following the death of Bill Tarmey, her beloved co-star

The actress' tribute comes just two months after Bill, who had a long history of heart and breathing problems, was found dead in bed at his holiday home in Tenerife.
In an interview with The Sunday Mirror, Liz gives an emotional account of when she last saw her beloved co-star.

She revealed that it was about a week before he passed away when she went for a reiki, a spiritual practice, and Bill's brother Alan had asked her to stop and see the actor.

On screen chemistry: Liz Dawn and Bill Tarmey created television gold as Coronation Street's famous warring couple: Jack and Vera Duckworth

Deep-seated grief: Liz Dawn admits she cried for days following the death of her co-star Bill Tarmey

But after waiting a while she decided she had better go, and now regrets not stopping to have that last chat when they later drove past him.
Liz added: 'As we drove away we passed Bill, but he didn't see us. I wished I had turned back and spoken to him one last time. I regret not doing that'.
It was just a few days later, while Liz was drinking a cup of tea at her flat in Manchester that the phone rang with the awful news from his sister-in-law.
She reveals she soon burst into tears and took it upon herself to ring up the rest of the cast on the Street.
Liz felt that many of them probably wouldn't know and that many people still loved him in the cast as he was like the 'grandfather' figure.
She then spent days mulling over the memories as she continued crying and came to terms with the loss.
The actress left the ITV soap two years ago due to her own serious health problems.

Lifelong friends: As well as having on-screen chemistry the couple were great friends in real life, often going abroad together with their respective families

She has suffered for years from emphysema - a smoking related lung disease and has until now been too ill to speak about Bill's death.
But she's now decided to open up about her longtime friend and recall their time together.
Only a fortnight ago she was rushed to hospital where she spent two days undergoing treatment for her chronic condition.
Nowadays she can't even pop down to the shops without the help of her family - her doting husband Donald and her four children.

A season of grief: The actress admits to crying for days following the death and funeral of her co-star Bill Tarmey in November 2012

Dawn admits she's 'still in shock' despite understanding that he 'wasn't well' as they would often phone each other to chat about the many ailments.
But Liz says she believes Bill would have been relieved to have died before his seriously ill son Carl the 'precious boy' he quit Corrie to care for in 2010.
Carl was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2009.
In private Bill would spend many hours with Liz pouring out his personal anguish, choosing not to burden his family.
Liz says he would often say that he couldn't bear the thought of outliving his son.

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