Anne Kirkbride’s name will remain on her old dressing room door as a permanent tribute to the star. The actress passed away in January at the age of 60, after 42 years playing Deirdre Barlow on Coronation Street. Her dressing room is now being used by her very close friend and co-star Beverley Callard, who plays Liz McDonald. Brooke Vincent – Sophie Webster on the show – told the Sun, "Anne is still there, she is still around us. Every time we pass her dressing room we see her name and it has been decided that her name will stay there."
Anne Kirkbride's name will remain on her dressing room door in tribute
The actress also spoke about the soap's "fitting tribute" to Anne as she hit the red carpet at the TRIC (Television and Radio Industries Club) Awards on Tuesday. "She was massive to us and to everybody else," Brooke told BBC's Newsbeat. "We were lucky enough to know Annie. A lot of people had the pleasure of watching her be Deirdre. "Everyday, without fail, if you saw her, she'd say, 'I love you.' That was it, that's all she used to say to people – 'I love you, I love you.' She was always the one who kind of lit up a room." Colson Smith, who plays Craig Tinker, described the late star as the soap's "grandma".
Anne and Bill Roache as Deirdre and Ken Barlow
"At Corrie, we act as a big family – we work as a family, we play as a family, and we are a family," he said. "(Anne) looked after the new people that came in, she'd give you hugs, she'd tell you stories, and she made the atmosphere good. "We're all happy to have had the pleasure of knowing Anne." Anne passed away on 19 January following a brief battle with cancer, and was laid to rest in a small, private ceremony a week later. Among those to pay their last respects was Bill Roache, who played her onscreen husband Ken Barlow for 40 years. He gave a touching tribute to Anne just a few hours after her sudden death in an emotional interview on This Morning. "She was full of fun, a wonderful person," he said. "We all loved her and will really, really miss her. "Whether we were together or not, Ken and Deirdre were soul mates. I loved her dearly and she loved me, and I respected her as an actress tremendously."