Patricia Phoenix

Bold, brassy and larger than life, Pat Phoenix was television's favourite scarlet woman. For nearly 25 years, she dominated the soap opera Coronation Street (1960) in the role of Elsie Tanner and sent shivers down the spines of Britain's menfolk twice a week. With her low cut cleavage, she was known as "the working man's Raquel Welch" and was once dubbed by the then-UK Prime Minister James Callaghan as "the sexiest woman on TV". Phoenix's life very much mirrored that of the character she played. Tough and determined, she came from a working class family in Manchester, but fought her way up to the top. Married three times, she was blunt, outspoken and a notorious chain-smoker. But like Elsie Tanner, she had a heart of gold and inspired affection in everybody. She desperately wanted to be an actress but her first job was as a filing clerk. She broke into repertory theatre and worked throughout the North of England with a variety of companies. "I played everything" she said. "When I was