Coronation Street’s Lynne Verrall has d!ed at the age of 76, her agent has confirmed. The actor was best known for playing Geraldine Spellman on the cobbles in 2017 as well as other theatre and TV roles.
Lynne played the homophobic mother of Drew Spellman (Tom Godwin) on the ITV soap, appearing in a number of episodes during her year-long run. Her storyline saw Geraldine fight for custody of Summer Spellman – her granddaughter – after her son Drew left the teenager in Billy Mayhew’s care following his d3ath.
Lynne also appeared in Doctors, Father Brown and ITV drama Innocent. Her agent Samantha Boyd paid tribute to the star in a statement.
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Lynne Verrall in Coronation Street
“Lynne was always ready to try any role, to grow and learn and develop,” she told The Stage. “She embraced life to the full.”
Lynne was diagnosed with motor neurone disease shortly after filming her 2023 comedy-drama Greek Salad and d!ed in Paris on 8 November.
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Lynne’s friend Sue Dunderdale said: “She faced it with incredible courage. She was extraordinary.
“She remained in Paris because she’d been happy there. She created this wonderful persona of an eccentric, charming Englishwoman. She was a fantastic actor but never got the recognition she deserved.”
Outside of TV, Lynne toured with the New Shakespeare Company as an understudy for the role of Celia in As You Like It as well as other theatre roles. She joined Sue Dunderdale’s touring company Pentabus in 1974 and went onto perform in three tours across the UK.
Lynne later worked at Theatr Clwyd, appearing in Entertaining Mr Sloane and Joe Penhall’s Pale Horse.
After appearing in Carrie Cracknell’s revival of A Doll’s House at London’s Young Vic in 2012, Lynne moved to Paris and took on roles in a number of short films there.
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Lynne Verrall played Geraldine in Corrie(Image: ITV)
Her first TV role was in Bill Brand back in 1976, after which she appeared in General Hospital, Inspector Morse, Casualty, Peak Practice, The Bill and Holby City. More recently, Lynne appeared in Vera, EastEnders and the film After Louise.
Her final role was in Prime Video’s French comedy-drama Greek Salad, which is about two siblings who move to Athens after inheriting a flat from their grandfather.
