Longtime Coronation Street star Cheryl Murray has died. She was 71. According to Mirror, she was best known for portraying Suzie Birchall on the long-running UK soap opera between 1977 and 1979, with a return engagement in 1983. She last played the character six years ago, marking her final time.
“We are saddened to hear of the recent passing of Cheryl Murray, our thoughts are with her family and friends,” ITV wrote in a statement. “Her vibrant portrayal of Gail’s best friend and Elsie Tanner’s lodger Suzie Birchall lived on in the memories of Coronation Street fans long after Suzie left the cobbles for the bright lights of London.”
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Elsewhere Murray was celebrated her appearance in Hi-de-Hi! as Joan Wainwright and then in the ’80s BBC comedy series Sorry! She also had a role in the prison drama Within These Walls.
She was diagnosed with MS and suffered her first MS attack while working on Coronation Street. Murray would retire from acting shortly after the diagnosis in 1998. “MS has never really stopped me doing anything. I get attacks about once a year when I have to go to bed for a few days but I have brilliant doctors who sort me out.
“Between times – apart from being careful with steps because my legs can be a bit wobbly sometimes – I don’t think about it very often. Truly, I don’t,” she continues, admitting that her first attack left her barely able to move. “I was in bed in my flat in Manchester when I was suddenly woken up by a tremendous pain in my back, as though knives were being stabbed into me, and found I could barely move. I honestly thought I was dying and crawled to the phone to dial Granada for help.”
Murray died one year ago, but her death wasn’t publicized until earlier this week. She originally passed in September 2023.
