Coronation Street star dead at 94
Coronation Street actress Eileen Mayers, whose character Sheila Birtles was involved in a controversial overdose storyline that never made it to air, has died aged 94.
Coronation Street actress Eileen Mayers has died at the age of 94.
The star, who played the role of factory worker Sheila Birtles in the ITV soap from 1961 to 1974, passed away in June.
The announcement of her passing in Equity magazine read: "Eileen (nee Mayers) died on 27th June 2026 aged 94.
"She took her final curtain call after an acting career which began aged 15 at the Oldham Repertory Theatre.
"Sheila Birtles in Coronation Street between 1960-63, she is now 'resting' for ever."
Eileen's Corrie alter ego is best remembered for a controversial suicide plot that never made it to air in 1963.
Sheila entered a state of depression after being rejected by love interest Neil Crossley (Geoffrey Matthews) and soap executives had developed a storyline in which she would have taken her own life after overdosing on pills.
However, details of the plot were leaked and a furious backlash from viewers meant that the decision was reversed – with the scene ultimately showing Sheila taking the pills before the screen faded to black.
Sheila subsequently departed Weatherfield alive in 1963 and returned for further stints on the soap in 1966, 1969 and 1974.
The scenes were later aired as intended in ITV's 2011 documentary The Corrie Years and Eileen reflected on how the storyline had been "front page news".
She recalled: "I came out of Granada having finished and was greeted with a wall of journalists and I couldn't believe it.
"It is disappointing when you think, 'Oh that's it, that's good', and then it doesn't get shown but that's the way it is. I had an actress friend who used to say, 'Well dear, you've been front page news!', and I'd rather not have been, and that they had shown the episode."
Coronation Street fans took to social media to pay tribute to Eileen following the sad news of her passing.
One wrote on X: "Sad to read that actress Eileen Mayers died in June aged 94.
"Her best-known role was Sheila Birtles in Coronation Street. She appeared from episode eight in January 1961 until September '63. She returned for an extended run in 1966, and two final stints in 1969 and 1974. RIP Eileen."
