Chris Gascoyne wanted to come back to 'Coronation Street' for Anne Kirkbride.
Chris Gascoyne
The 47-year-old actor has revealed when he heard the actress, who played his on-screen mother Deirdre Barlow in the ITV soap, passed away from cancer aged 60 in January, he didn't think twice about returning to play Peter Barlow for the on-screen funeral.
He said: "I was very happy to come back. I was very close to Annie Kirkbride, and when I heard she'd passed away, I thought Peter should come back for both her and Deirdre's sake."
The actor - who left 'Corrie' last year after 14 years on the cobbles - went on to explain how "weird" he found shooting a funeral for Deirdre, due to be shown on ITV on Monday night (13.07.15), as he kept "remembering Annie".
Speaking to Inside Soap magazine, Chris said: "It felt weird to be doing a scene about Deirdre's funeral - it still feels slightly odd. There were moments when I was flipping between thinking about Deirdre and remembering Annie. They were a strange couple of days - ones I'd hoped wouldn't come for many years.
"Annie has gone and we'll all be in a poorer place without her, but at least now I feel I can put that to rest and accept it."
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