Coronation Street legend Bill Tarmey, best known for playing Jack Duckworth, died just two years after leaving the soap to care for his son. Jack was first introduced in 1979, before returning in 1981 and becoming a full-time character in 1983.
Exit from the Street
Bill left the soap in 2010 after more than 30 years because his son, Carl, had been diagnosed with a brain tumour the year prior. "You would have had to drag me kicking and screaming from the Street, it was my life and I loved it," Bill said of his exit. "But I needed to be with my family and Carl."
Tragically, Bill passed away from a heart attack at the age of 71 in 2012. His family confirmed that he died in Tenerife, Spain, and at the time, asked for "privacy as they grieve for a wonderful husband, father and brother".
Health struggles and family life
Bill was married to his childhood sweetheart Alison for 50 years and they shared two children, Carl and Sara. A lifelong heavy smoker, Tarmey suffered a severe heart attack at just 35 while performing on stage. He later underwent heart bypass surgery at 45 to treat clogged arteries, before having the procedure repeated 15 years later. He also suffered from sleep apnoea, a condition that caused him to wake suddenly several times a night as he struggled to breathe.
Liz Dawn, who played his on-screen wife Vera Duckworth, paid tribute to Bill after his death, saying: "You couldn't wish to meet a more lovely man and a true gentleman."
Carl's battle
Meanwhile, Carl sadly passed away aged 52 in 2019 following a 10-year fight with a brain tumour. Carl defied the odds after being told he had just 12 months to live following his original diagnosis. He was a father-of-three and grandfather, who lived with his family in Ashton-under-Lyne, Tameside.
On behalf of Brain Tumour Research, Carl said in 2017: "Over the years I have been near death many times, usually in an ambulance, terrified, with sirens blaring. I must be indestructible like Captain Scarlet. We spend a lot of time together so I talk to my tumour, telling it 'you're not going to beat me'. You have to live your life and I really believe in thinking positive and putting up a good fight. Maybe it will get me, maybe it will be something else, but I'm not going to sit and wait for it. As my dad always used to say, while laying his hands on my shoulders and looking into my eyes, 'you are a lion, my son'. The whole family, and many of our friends, have got behind us and helped raise thousands for Brain Tumour Research."
Carl added: "It keeps us busy and motivated. I get angry about the lack of funding and, like my dad who was a patron of Brain Tumour Research, I will always do everything I can to raise awareness."
