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Deirdre Barlow Actress Anne Kirkbride Remembered By 'Coronation Street' Co-Star Owen Aaronovitch, As He Discusses 'Free The Weatherfield One' Plot

Corrie's Anne Kirkbride Remembered By 'Free The Weatherfield One' Co-star
Ashley Percival
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The actor who starred opposite Anne Kirkbride in the iconic 'Coronation Street’ Free The Weatherfield One’ storyline has paid tribute to the Deirdre Barlow actress.

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Owen Aaronovitch, who played conman Jon Lindsay on the ITV soap, described Anne as a “complete professional” as he appeared on ‘Lorraine’ on Wednesday (8 July).

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Owen and Anne as Jon and Deirdre

Speaking of the scenes they shot together in 1997, which saw Jon frame lover Deirdre for fraud, Owen said: "She was really, really lovely. It's no secret at the time she was filming that she was battling depression but you would never really know it on-screen.

"It never stopped her doing what she was doing. She was a complete professional.”

He continued: "She used to prepare herself emotionally. She'd kind of psyche herself up and she had to do that a lot. And she really had to get into that zone."

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Owen discussed Anne on 'Lorraine'

Owen also described the ‘Free The Weatherfield One’ campaign which swept the nation, as “bonkers”, but admitted he understood why the public felt such an affinity with the character.

"Deirdre is sort of an every woman. People would watch it and see what was happening to her and get enraged by it,” he said.

"She had that tough on the outside but vulnerable persona. She had a lot of flaws that people could identify with."

‘Coronation Street’ fans will see Deirdre’s family discover that she has died in tonight’s episode, after producers were forced to write the character out after Anne’s death in January.

Spoiler pictures from next week’s episodes also show Weatherfield residents bidding an emotional farewell to Deirdre at her funeral.

Anne Kirkbride Through The Years
Anne Kirkbride(01 of15)
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File photo dated 13/06/83 of Coronation Street actress Anne Kirkbride, who played Deirdre Barlow, has died after a short illness, her husband David Beckett said tonight. (credit:PA/PA Wire)
Television - ITV Series - Coronation Street - Manchester(02 of15)
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Coronation Street stars during a Christmas Party sequence at the Rovers Return. Left to right, Julie Goodyear as Bet Lynch; Doris Speed as Annie Walker; Jack Howarth as Albert Tatlock; Betty Driver as Betty Turpin (behind); Barbara Knox as Rita Littlewood; Anne Kirkbride as Deidre Hunt (behind), as Jean Alexander as Hilda Ogden; unidentified; Stephen Hancock as Ernest Bishop; as Geoffrey Hughes as Eddie Yeats (at the back); Violet Carson as Ena Sharples; Eileen Derbyshire as Emily Bishop; Margo Bryant as Minnie Caldwell; unidentified; Thelma Barlow as Mavis Riley; Bernard Youens as Stan Ogden; Neville Buswell as Ray Langdon; unidentified. (credit:PA/PA Archive)
Television - Queen visit to Coronation Street - Granada Studios(03 of15)
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Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visit the newly built location of Granada Television's "Coronation Street" in Manchester. Some of the cast from left to right: Jack Howarth, William Roache, Anne Kirkbride, Eileen Derbyshire and Thelma Barlow (credit:PA/PA Archive)
Television - Granada TV - Coronation Street 25th Anniversary - Dorchester Hotel(04 of15)
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Members of the cast of ITV's soap opera Coronation Street, crowded around a cake replica of the street at the celebration to mark its 25th anniversary at the Dorchester Hotel. Front row, left to right, Julie Goodyear, Eileen Derbyshire, series creater Tony Warren, William Roache, Jean Alexander and Betty Driver. Back row, left to right, Nigel Pivaro, Johnny Briggs, Michael Le Vell, Bill Tarmey, Thelma Barlow, Anne Kirkbride, Bryan Mosley, Lynn Perry, Kevin Kennedy, Bill Waddington, Helen Worth and Liz Dawn. (credit:PA/PA Archive)
kirkbride anne 02-(05 of15)
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Anne Kirkbride, attends the Coronation Street, Christmas Party, held at the Lowry hotel in Manchester. (credit:Eamon Clarke /EMPICS Entertainment)
Anne Kirkbride death(06 of15)
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File photo dated 23/05/83 of Coronation Street actors William Roache (left), who played Ken Barlow and Johnny Briggs who played Mike Baldwin with Anne Kirkbride, who played Deirdre Barlow, as she has died after a short illness, her husband David Beckett said. (credit:PA/PA Wire)
Actors Anne Kirkbride And Bill Roache Come Face To Face With Ken And Deidre(07 of15)
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BLACKPOOL, ENGLAND - JULY 25: Coronation Street actress Anne Kilbride comes face to face with a wax work model of her street character Deirdre Barlow on July 25, 2011 in Blackpool, England. Two wax work figures of Coronation Street's Deirdre and Ken Barlow are the latest celebrity fascimiles to be unveiled at Madame Tussauds Blackpool (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images) (credit:Christopher Furlong via Getty Images)
Actors Anne Kirkbride And Bill Roache Come Face To Face With Ken And Deidre(08 of15)
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BLACKPOOL, ENGLAND - JULY 25: Coronation Street actress Anne Kilbride comes face to face with a wax work model of her street character husband Ken Barlow on July 25, 2011 in Blackpool, England. Two wax work figures of Coronation Street's Deirdre and Ken Barlow are the latest celebrity fascimiles to be unveiled at Madame Tussauds Blackpool (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images) (credit:Christopher Furlong via Getty Images)
Actors Anne Kirkbride And Bill Roache Come Face To Face With Ken And Deidre(09 of15)
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BLACKPOOL, ENGLAND - JULY 25: Coronation Street actress Anne Kilbride comes face to face with a wax work model of her street character Deirdre Barlow on July 25, 2011 in Blackpool, England. Two wax work figures of Coronation Street's Deirdre and Ken Barlow are the latest celebrity fascimiles to be unveiled at Madame Tussauds Blackpool (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images) (credit:Christopher Furlong via Getty Images)
The Duchess Of Cornwall - Coronation Street Visit(10 of15)
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MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 04: Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall (2L) meets actors Anne Kirkbride, who plays the role of Deirdre Barlow (C) and Ryan Thomas, who plays the role of Jason Grimshaw (R) during a tour to the Rovers Return Pub on the set of British television soap opera 'Coronation Street' on February 4, 2010 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Andrew Yates-WPA Pool/Getty Images) (credit:WPA Pool via Getty Images)
Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall (2nd L)(11 of15)
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Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall (2nd L) meets actors Beverly Callard, who plays landlady Liz McDonald (L), Anne Kirkbride, who plays the role of Deirdre Barlow (2nd R) and Ryan Thomas, who plays the role of Jason Grimshaw (R) during a visit to the Rovers Return Pub on the set of British television soap opera 'Coronation Street', in Manchester, north-west England, on February 4, 2010. AFP PHOTO/ANDREW YATES/WPA POOL (Photo credit should read ANDREW YATES/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:ANDREW YATES via Getty Images)
Central Station Paint Coronation Street-Part 1 - Manchester(12 of15)
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The Richard Goodall Gallery in Manchester's northern quarter had it's opening night party for the exhibition "Central Station Paint Coronation Street-Part 1". Coronation Street's Anne Kirkbride. (credit:Eamonn and James Clarke/Eamonn and James Clarke)
Coronation Street Filming - Manchester(13 of15)
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Anne Kirkbride seen on the set of Coronation Street, Cheshire (credit:Eamonn and James Clarke/Eamonn and James Clarke)
Anne Kirkbride(14 of15)
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File photo dated 29/01/14 of Coronation Street actress Anne Kirkbride, who played Deirdre Barlow, has died after a short illness, her husband David Beckett said tonight. (credit:Peter Byrne/PA Wire)
Coronation Street filming - Manchester(15 of15)
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Anne Kirkbride who plays Deirdre Barlow in Coronation Street is seen filming the funeral scene of Blanche Hunt who was played by Maggie Jones who recently passed away in real life, Manchester (credit:Eamonn and James Clarke/Eamonn and James Clarke)

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