The actress, who had a hugely successful career in theatre and TV, died in Paris
09:29, 27 Nov 2025
Lynne Verrall (right) in Coronation Street(Image: ITV)
Coronation Street star Lynne Verrall, whose career spanned more than 50 year, has died, it has been announced.
The actress, who had a hugely successful career in theatre and TV, landing the role of Geraldine Spellman in the ITV soap in 2017, is reported to have died in Paris on November 8 after battling a long illness.
Her agent Samantha Boyd said: “Lynne was always ready to try any role, to grow and learn and develop. She embraced life to the full,” industry magazine The Stage has reported.
According to The Sun, French fundraising page has been set up in her memory, to help fight motor neurone disease. It reads: “Our dear friend Lynne faced MND with her trademark wit and courage — and even in the toughest moments, she never lost her spark (or her sense of humour).
“In true Lynne fashion, she even left a gift in her will to ARSLA, the MND association here in Paris, to help others facing this awful illness. If you’d like to honour her memory — and give this disease the middle finger (ARSLA’s brilliant campaign slogan!) — you might consider a small donation to support their work.
Lynne (far right) as Geraldine in Corrie(Image: ITV)
“I can just imagine Lynne laughing at that and saying, ‘That’s the spirit — don’t make a fuss, but thank you, darling’.”
Following several roles on television in the 1970s and 1980s, Lynne landed the role of Geraldine Spellman in Coronation Street. She appeared in Corrie intermittently from June 2017 and March 2018.
The character, Geraldine, was the homophobic mother to her late son Drew and grandmother to his adoptive daughter Summer Spellman.
After being diagnosed with terminal cancer, Drew decided to leave Summer in the care of his ex-boyfriend Billy Mayhew and Billy’s then-boyfriend Todd Grimshaw in the hope that they’d be able to raise her better than his parents who would try to raise her with their homophobic views; his mother in particular.
