"Deirdre Hunt" (
Anne Kirkbride) first appeared on
Coronation Street (1960) in 1972 and it was 2 years later that the writers decided to introduce her mother, Blanche, in the build up to her marriage to "Ray Langton" (
Neville Buswell).
Sadly, the actress chosen to play the part,
Patricia Cutts, took her own life on 6 September 1974 and the part had to be hurriedly re-cast, and Maggie Jones got the role that she has since made so much her own.