Not Blanche! ANYBODY but Blanche?! *pulls self together*
The actress who plays Blanche Hunt in Corrie is gravely ill in hospital after suffering a fall on Sunday, which rendered her spleen ruptured. 75-year-old Maggie Jones is currently been treated in Manchester's Hope Hospital and, according to The Sun, "the next new days are vital".
A source on the show said: "Our thoughts and prayers are with her at this difficult time. Everyone here is wishing her a speedy recovery and we hope she's going to be OK. We're keeping our fingers crossed because obviously she is one of the elder members of the cast. There's a very real chance her career's over and the character of Blanche will be off screens for good. Even if she manages to make a full recovery she wouldn't be filming again until Christmas, which will keep her off-screen until mid-February at least. It's devastating news for fans. She's a very popular actress and has a massive following on the show."
Maggie, we hear at Entertainment.ie are willing you to be back on your feet soon. Your cracking one-liners make Corrie. Here are our top five:
5) To Deirdre and Ken: "Good looks are a curse Deirdre. You and Kenneth should count yourselves lucky."
4) To Ken: "I don't know why you bother to come if all you can do is moan. Why don't you go home and write one of your columns about dog muck?"
3) Blanche: "There's one thing I hate."
Peter: "What's that?"
Blanche: "Waving."
2) Norris: "Speed bumps? Oh no, they are so ugly and unattractive."
Blanche: "So are you, but at least they have some use."
1) To anyone in ear shot: "You're neither use nor ornament."
Blanche has also been known to go off on lengthier rants, one of which can be viewed here.
Get well soon, Maggie. In the meantime, perhaps writers could pass Blanche's quip mantel to her grandson, Peter, in her absence. He only went and called Bill Roache's Ken a "ponce" to his face on yesterday's episode. That shouldn't make us laugh, but it did.
