The entire 'Coronation Street' cast gave five minutes of spontaneous applause in memory of Maggie Jones yesterday (02.12.09).

The 75-year-old actress -who played Blanche Hunt in the ITV soap - died yesterday morning (02.12.09) and in her memory the 'Coronation Street' cast stopped filming for the day.

Bill Roache - who played Maggie's son-in-law Ken Barlow, and was one of the stars who had the most screen time with her, said Maggie was a "brilliant actress".

He added: "She was a tower of strength - physically frail but mentally strong as an ox and sharp as someone half her age."

Katherine Kelly, Becky McDonald in the soap, said she felt "blessed" to have known Maggie, and Tupele Dorgu (Kelly Crabtree) said even through her illness, she had "always had a kind word for people".

Maggie had won several comedy awards for her withering put-downs and cutting one-liners.

This year she won 'Funniest Performance' at the Inside Soap Awards.

She said: "Everyone knows someone like Blanche - or if they don't, they wish they did".

Maggie had been forced to withdraw from filming in October when she was rushed into hospital for an emergency stomach operation.

She was kept in intensive care for a few days, but was later believed to be making a steady recovery, however her condition deteriorated and on Tuesday she died in her sleep.