Corrie’s Liz Dawn to have pacemaker fitted

Former Coronation Street star Liz Dawn will undergo heart surgery on Friday.

The 73-year-old actress suffers from the chronic lung disease emphysema which has increased the strain on her heart. The surgery has been advised by doctors.

She will have the operation at Manchester’s Wythenshawe Hospital and is, according to a friend, “looking forward to a big improvement in her quality of life” once the procedure is complete.

Her husband Donald confirmed to The Sun: “Liz is fine. She goes in to have the pacemaker fitted later this week.”

The popular actress played Vera Duckworth – one of the ITV soap’s best loved characters – for over 30 years between 1974 and 2008. She quit Corrie due to ill health but made a one off appearance in 2010 for the leaving storyline of telly husband Jack.

Dawn previously suffered a heart attack earlier this year.