Fans of long-running British soap opera “Coronation Street” are paying tribute to actress Eileen Mayers, who played factory worker Sheila Birtles on the series for more than a decade, off and on from 1961 until 1974.
As The Independent reported, news of her passing was announced in Equity magazine.
“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,” read the Equity notice.
“Sheila Birtles in Coronation Street between 1960-63; she is now ‘resting’ for ever.”
A ‘Corrie’ Controversy
Her role on the beloved soap — affectionately dubbed “Corrie” by fans — was particularly controversial in its day, due to a 1963 storyline in which her character struggled with deep depression due to a bad romance and took her own life by overdosing on pills.
However, when the impending storyline was leaked to the press, backlash from viewers was so intense that the episode was pulled before broadcast. That vocal opposition from the show’s fans ultimately convinced producers to alter the storyline; when the episode was eventually aired, the scene showed her character swallowing the pills before the screen faded to black.
The script was quickly rewritten with a different ending in which Sheila survived, and ultimately exited the fictional town of Weatherfield later that year. Mayers later revived the character when Mayers returned to the show in 1966, again in 1969, and one final time in 1974.
The never-aired scene of the character’s suicide was finally broadcast in ITV’s 2011 documentary “The Corrie Years,” with Mayers marveling at how her character’s soap-opera storyline became “front page news” at the time.
“I came out of Granada [Studios] having finished and was greeted with a wall of journalists and I couldn’t believe it,” she recalled.
“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,” she said of the controversy. “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.”
In that documentary, the reporter who publicized the leaked storyline, Ken Irwin, said: “I leaked the story and all hell broke loose. Viewers complained they didn’t want this horror, Granada had a rethink and within 24 hours did a rewrite.”
Fans Pay Tribute
While best known for “Coronation Stret,” Mayers also appeared in episodes of various other U.K. television series, including “Just Jimmy” (1964), “How’s Your Father” (1974), “Screenplay” (1981) and “Keep It in the Family” (1983).
Following news of Mayers’ passing, fans took to social media to pay tribute.
“Sad to read that actress Eileen Mayers died in June aged 94,” One viewer wrote on X.
“Ah, I’ve just read in the latest edition of Equity magazine that the actress Eileen Mayers has recently died. She played Sheila Birtles in the early episodes of Coronation Street. Sad news,” read another comment, via The Express.
“I am incredibly sad to see she has passed and yet I am relieved to know that she didn’t die without notice, sincerely RIP to her,” wrote another fan.
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Beloved Soap Star Has Passed Away at 94, Tributes Pour In