A much-loved and Catholic soap star died aged 77 last week after 30 years on television.
Liz Dawn, who played the fiery Vera Duckworth in Coronation Street, realised one of her dreams when she met St John Paul II when he was Pope in the Vatican in 1998 after years of charity work.
The television star began her role in Coronation Street in 1974. Although she had no formal training she drew on her upbringing, in Leeds, to play the much-loved character. She was raised in a Catholic family, her father was a factory engineer and her mother worked in a tailoring factory.
In 2000 she was awarded an MBE (Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for her charity work raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for hospitals in Manchester and Leeds, and also fronted awareness campaigns for the British Lung Foundation.
“We are devastated and heartbroken at the passing of our much-loved wife, mother, sister, grandmother and great grandmother, the incredible Liz Dawn,” a statement from her family read.
She died peacefully in her sleep.