Battleaxe saved from the axe

CORRIE battleaxe Blanche Hunt has been saved after a plan to give her the chop.

Producers were writing a storyline which would see the shrew’s exit through illness.

But after a top-level meeting, it was felt the character still had “a lot to give”. Viewers will see Deirdre Barlow’s mum, played by Maggie Jones, 74, feel faint around New Year.

An insider on the ITV1 soap said: “It has been seriously considered and discussed at our latest forward planning meeting that the character of Blanche should be killed off. But we appreciate she’s a great old, grumpy character and the chemistry between Blanche the Barlow clan and the other street regulars is superb so we felt we had to keep her.”

The character was first played by Patricia Cutts in the summer of 1974 — but the actress committed suicide after two episodes. Maggie stepped in to replace her for four years. She briefly returned in 1981 and 1996 before becoming a Weatherfield regular again in 1998.

Maggie lives in London but stays in a luxury hotel near the Manchester studios while filming.

She recently suffered a fall and was off work for several weeks with knee problems — forcing a hurried re-write.

---

I'm glad they changed their mind, Blanche is one of the best characters on the Street.

What a silly idea, killing off Blanche! 74 is nothing these days, Blanche could have twenty years ahead of her. Unless the actress wants to go, they should keep her.