Post by CG Wendy on Jun 15, 2008 3:29:47 GMT
From the News of the World
I hope he will reconsider. But of course if his health is at risk then he should leave.
I won`t half miss him though
CORRIE legend Bill Tarmey is to Jack it in after 30 years playing the Street’s best-loved rogue.
We can reveal that the popular star has told bosses he will quit as Jack Duckworth after he reaches the landmark anniversary next year.
His departure follows the break-up of Britain’s greatest soap double act when on-screen wife Liz Dawn, who played Vera Duckworth, left earlier this year.
Last night a pal said Bill, 67. had told bosses that he would sign a new one-year deal in the autumn but it will be his LAST.
“He wants to get to three decades in Corrie, which is a huge achievement. Bill’s not getting any younger and wants to enjoy retirement. He’s got a place in Tenerife and is looking forward to being out there,” added the pal.
“He is not in the best of health and does find the workload on Corrie very tiring.”
The £180,000-a-year star has made slacker Jack Duckworth into one of soap’s most enduring characters. He first appeared in the Street in November 1979, when Vera dragged him to Brian and Gail Tilsley’s wedding—only to have him sneak off for a pint.
Together they provided classic Corrie moments.
Stroke
He briefly owned his beloved Rovers, and in another memorable storyline he was arrested for unwittingly growing pot on his allotment.
And millions tuned in to see Jack say an emotional goodbye to Vera when she died in January. But Bill himself has been dogged by ill-health in real life for years. He suffered a stroke at 36 and was given ten years to live after a heart bypass in 1986.
He needed another bypass in 2002 and had to be brought back to life when his heart stopped after the eight-hour op.
But Bill always refused to give up smoking and has no regrets.
He once said: “If I die tomorrow, they’ll have to prise the smile off my face because I’ve had such a good life.”
A Corrie source told us they were still hoping they could get him to stay on—at least to the show’s 50th anniversary in 2010.
But he added: “If Bill decides to go he will be hugely missed. He has been a huge part of the show for many years.”
We can reveal that the popular star has told bosses he will quit as Jack Duckworth after he reaches the landmark anniversary next year.
His departure follows the break-up of Britain’s greatest soap double act when on-screen wife Liz Dawn, who played Vera Duckworth, left earlier this year.
Last night a pal said Bill, 67. had told bosses that he would sign a new one-year deal in the autumn but it will be his LAST.
“He wants to get to three decades in Corrie, which is a huge achievement. Bill’s not getting any younger and wants to enjoy retirement. He’s got a place in Tenerife and is looking forward to being out there,” added the pal.
“He is not in the best of health and does find the workload on Corrie very tiring.”
The £180,000-a-year star has made slacker Jack Duckworth into one of soap’s most enduring characters. He first appeared in the Street in November 1979, when Vera dragged him to Brian and Gail Tilsley’s wedding—only to have him sneak off for a pint.
Together they provided classic Corrie moments.
Stroke
He briefly owned his beloved Rovers, and in another memorable storyline he was arrested for unwittingly growing pot on his allotment.
And millions tuned in to see Jack say an emotional goodbye to Vera when she died in January. But Bill himself has been dogged by ill-health in real life for years. He suffered a stroke at 36 and was given ten years to live after a heart bypass in 1986.
He needed another bypass in 2002 and had to be brought back to life when his heart stopped after the eight-hour op.
But Bill always refused to give up smoking and has no regrets.
He once said: “If I die tomorrow, they’ll have to prise the smile off my face because I’ve had such a good life.”
A Corrie source told us they were still hoping they could get him to stay on—at least to the show’s 50th anniversary in 2010.
But he added: “If Bill decides to go he will be hugely missed. He has been a huge part of the show for many years.”
I hope he will reconsider. But of course if his health is at risk then he should leave.
I won`t half miss him though
