Corrie To Lay Anne Kirkbride's Deirdre To Rest

Months after the death of Coronation Street actress Anne Kirkbride, her soap character Deirdre Barlow is to be laid to rest.

The star, who was in the soap for 40 years, died in January after taking a break when she was diagnosed with cancer.

Bosses have revealed that a storyline will see Deirdre die and be mourned by Weatherfield's residents at what a source described as "the equivalent to a state funeral in soap terms".

The 60-year-old actress was one of the soap's best-known performers and was loved by millions for her portrayal of husky-voiced Deirdre, famed for many years for her oversized spectacles.

Kirkbride appeared in many colourful storylines over the years, including one of her most memorable soap moments when Deirdre was jailed after being duped into a mortgage fraud by fiance Jon Lindsay.

The storyline even led then prime minister Tony Blair to give his support to the Free The Weatherfield One movement to get her released.

The actress previously took a break from the soap after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1993.

It is not known when scenes for the storyline will be filmed or when it will air.