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Anne Kirkbride tragically lost her battle with breast cancer on Monday.
But just three days before passing away in hospital, Anne, 60, told Corrie producer Stuart Blackburn she was excited at the prospect of returning to the ITV soap.
Stuart told The Sun: “She seemed so happy and she was talking about and really excited about coming back to work. She’s so missed already.”
Anne’s friend William Roache, who played her husband Ken Barlow, revealed: “We were expecting her back in a month or so, until suddenly last Friday we got the call that things were much, much worse.”
Deirdre Barlow's Coronation Street highlights
1 of 9Ray Langton, Dierdre and baby Tracy (and Deirdre's massive glasses, obvs)
2 of 9Ken tied the knot with Deirdre and her nice hair back in 1981
3 of 9Back in the day, Deirdre and good friend Liz McDonald both favoured a perm
4 of 9Her holiday romance with Samir ended in marriage
5 of 9When she was wrongly arrested for fraud, a "free the Weatherfield One" campaign was launched
6 of 9Remember her brief fling with boss Dev?
7 of 9In court, having to testify at daughter Tracy's trial
8 of 9Family portrait: Deirdre, mum Blanche and little Eccles. Aww
9 of 9