Liz Dawn’s Husband Reveals The ‘Coronation Street’ Star’s Heartbreaking Final Words

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The husband of ‘Coronation Street’ star Liz Dawn has revealed her last words, before her death last month at the age of 77.

Don Ibbetson, who was married to the actress for more than 50 years, has told of how he held the hand of the Vera Duckworth actress in her final moments.

She told him: “You don’t know how much I loved you, Don. I did from the very first moment we met.”

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Liz Dawn and husband Don Ibbetson, photographed in 1982.
Mirrorpix via Getty Images

Liz, who played Vera in the ITV soap for 34 years, was diagnosed with the lung disease emphysema in 2001 and had been battling chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

She was written out of the show in 2008 at her request.

Speaking to the Sunday Mirror, Don said: “It still feels a little unreal Liz has gone. She’d come through so many problems, so we all thought she was kind of unbreakable.

“But she battled until the end. When she did go it was very peaceful. To the country she was Vera - and she loved that.

“But to all of us she was Liz - the most perfect wife, mother and grandmother. I will love her for the rest of my days.”

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PA Wire/PA Images

Earlier this month, ‘Coronation Street’ stars past and present gathered to say farewell to Liz at her funeral.

Helen Worth, Sally Dynevor, Jennie McAlpine, Bruce Jones, Jack P Shepherd, Kym Marsh and Alison King were among the stars from the soap in attendance at the service at Salford Cathedral in Manchester.

Samia Longchambon (Maria Connor) and Alan Halsall (Tyrone Dobbs) delivered a joint tribute, telling the congregation: “Liz was undoubtedly a wonderful, kind, funny and considerate person, and someone whose generosity knew no bounds.”

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Coronation Street star Liz Dawn at Buckingham Palace after she received an MBE from Britain's Queen Elizabeth II. Dawn, who plays the Street's Vera Duckworth, received the honour for her charity work at hospitals in Manchester and Leeds. * A staunch royalist, she previously met the Queen when the monarch visited the Coronation Street set in 1982 and posed for a picture with the cast outside the Rovers Return. (credit:PA Archive/PA Images)
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British Actress Liz Dawn Star of the Granada TV soap 'Coronation Street'Seen at the launch of the British Digestive Foundation publication 'Calling Time on Peptic Ulcers'. (Photoshot/Getty Images) (credit:Photoshot via Getty Images)
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Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair meets Coronation Street actress Liz Dawn, after addressing Labour party members at the Lowry theatre, Salford Keys, Manchester, in advance of the fourth coming European elections. (credit:PA Archive/PA Images)
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Soap star, Liz Dawn (left), alias Vera Duckworth in Coronation Street and Birmingham City FC Managing Director, Karren Brady launch The Campaign Against Peptic Ulcers at the Wellington Pub in central London today (Wednesday). Both celebrities have suffered, but fully recoverd from the condition. More commonly known as stomach ulcers, it is a common complaint affecting one in ten people at some point in their life. Photo by Sean Dempsey/PA. (credit:PA Archive/PA Images)
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Coronation Street stars Bill Tarmey and Liz Dawn (Jack and Vera Duckworth) try to get some tips on how to win from a hotel employee in Las Vegas, the pair were on location shooting a special edition of the hit soap for video. (credit:PA Archive/PA Images)
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Bill Tarmey and Liz Dawn as Jack and Vera 31/05/1988 in TV series Coronation Street . (Photo by Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix/Getty Images) (credit:Mirrorpix via Getty Images)
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Superstar actress Joan Collins (right) teams up with Coronation Street's Jack (Bill Tarmey) and Vera Duckworth (Liz Dawn) in the soap's Christmas video. Joan, 64, makes a cameo appearance when Jack and Vera fly home from Las Vegas to London's Heathrow Airport. See PA story SHOWBIZ Collins. (C) Granada TV Bill Tarmey as Jack Duckworth and Liz Dawn as Vera Duckworth with Joan Collins. (credit:PA Archive/PA Images)
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BLACKPOOL, ENGLAND - MARCH 26: Actress Liz Dawn attends a photo call for new waxworks of Coronation Street's Jack and Vera Duckworth unveiled at Madame Tussauds, Blackpool on March 26, 2014 in Blackpool, England. (Photo by Shirlaine Forrest/Getty Images) (credit:Shirlaine Forrest via Getty Images)
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File photo dated 03/05/08 of Coronation street actress Liz Dawn with the Lifetime Achievements award at the British Soap Awards 2008. Liz Dawn, who played Vera Duckworth in the soap, has died, her family has said. (credit:PA Wire/PA Images)
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The cast of Coronation Street celebrate the Silver Jubilee on the Manchester set of the Granada TV programme. Episode One went out on December 9 1960. (credit:PA Archive/PA Images)
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