Deirdre Barlow's emotional funeral will see heartbroken husband Ken and friend Liz McDonald carry her casket in one final tear-jerking Coronation Street scene

They were her best friends in life and in art, and Coronation Street's Ken Barlow (William Roache) and Liz McDonald (Beverly Calard) will be the ones who lay Anne Kirkbride to rest on the show.

In new pictures released ahead of Anne's character Deirdre Barlow's funeral, Ken and Liz are seen carrying the casket through the church in one last emotional scene.

Weatherfield residents and fans of the ITV soap will be able to bid farewell to the beloved character that actress Anne so brilliantly portrayed for over 40 years, before her untimely death at 60 in January.

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Friendly farewell: Coronation Street's Ken Barlow and Liz McDonald are seen carrying Deirdre Barlow's casket into the church during a funeral scene due to air on Monday

Friendly farewell: Coronation Street's Ken Barlow and Liz McDonald are seen carrying Deirdre Barlow's casket into the church during a funeral scene due to air on Monday

The scene will no doubt be as hard to watch as it was to film for friends Bev and Bill, who have openly spoken out about their grief in the wake of Anne's passing.

As for the drama, the funeral is not set to go as smoothly as some would have hoped.

Shots from the send off scene show - due to air on Monday night - that Deirdre's daughter Tracy is to cause quite a stir, as per usual, when she fights with step-father Ken.

Tracy, played by Kate Ford, is the one to read out Deirdre's last requests - as laid out in a letter to her loved ones. 

Feud: Tracy Barlow is set to cause a stir at the funeral when Ken can't seem to hold back his fury at making him miss his final week with Deirdre

Feud: Tracy Barlow is set to cause a stir at the funeral when Ken can't seem to hold back his fury at making him miss his final week with Deirdre

Deirdre seemingly planned her funeral, right down to the detail that there should be regular 'fag breaks' for 'us smokers'.

But Ken is fighting fury for the troublesome mother-of-one after it's revealed that Deirdre stayed away from home for an extra week before her death because she couldn't face psychopath Tracy. 

Ken is therefore struggling with the grief that he missed those final, precious moments with his wife. 

Her death followed a four-month absence from the street, after which she was due to be welcomed back with a fictional 60th birthday party.

The family recently learned that Anne's character Deirdre died of a suspected aneurysm as she sat peacefully in a deck chair in the garden.

Producers built the farewell plot into the show after decided on how to honour Anne's long-serving work with the show.

Making a scene: Tracy, next to Steve McDonald, can't seem to hold her bitter tongue

Making a scene: Tracy, next to Steve McDonald, can't seem to hold her bitter tongue

 

 

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