Several Coronation Street stars are among those from Greater Manchester paying tribute following the death of country legend Dolly Parton at the age of 80.
Tributes flooded in from around the world when news of her passing was announced by her nephew, Bryan Seaver, on Tuesday (August 25) evening via a video shared on Instagram. He described it as "an honour that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness" to share the news, adding: "But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly. Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl, her parents and countless others who have watched her and longed to meet her in the heavens."
Death after brief cancer battle
It has since been confirmed that the singer, best known for her genre-defining hits including 9 To 5, I Will Always Love You and Jolene, died after a "brief battle with cancer". In a statement to media outlets, her publicist Marcel Pariseau said: "After bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones."
The type of cancer was not disclosed. Her death comes after her beloved husband, Carl Dean, died last year, aged 82.
Corrie stars share their memories
Samia Longchambon, who plays Maria Windass in Corrie, shared a picture of the music icon on Instagram and said: "One of my favourite bits of knowledge about Dolly is that she wrote two of the biggest songs in music history, I Will Always Love You and Jolene, within days of each other.. possibly even on the same day."
She added: "The truest of music icons, amazing role model for all women and a wonderful human in so many ways. The world is a little bit darker without her light.. Thank you for the music @dollyparton Rest in Peace #dollyparton."
Eva Price actress Catherine Tyldesley said she was "absolutely gutted" by the news in a post on her Instagram Story, before sharing to her main account: "A story wasn’t good enough. I had to post. What an incredible woman. An earth angel. Someone that made a HUGE difference to so many."
She continued: "And her music touched my soul. Whenever I’m down I listen to 9-5 and Baby I’m burning. My Coat of Many Colours breaks me everytime. Gosh we were luck to have you @dollyparton. Rest in peace you beautiful soul."
Antony Cotton, famed for playing Sean Tully in the ITV soap, which is filmed in Salford, also shared on Instagram: "The world just got a heck of a lot sadder today. Rest in power, Dolly. We will always love you too."
He captioned the post: "Can’t imagine a world without Dolly in it really, can we? She really was the best of the best human beings. Listening to Coat Of Many Colours with a smile and a tear. Rest in power, Dolly. We will always love you too," to which co-star Cath replied: "Absolutely gutted [broken heart emojis]."
