Eileen Mayers, Coronation Street star famed for controversial cut storyline, dies aged 94

Former Coronation Street star Eileen Mayers, who played Sheila Birtles on the long-running ITV soap, has died at the age of 94.

The actor, who appeared on the show between 1961 and 1974, passed away back in June.

The news of her passing was reported in Equity magazine, with a notice reading: "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."

Mayers's Coronation Street character will be remembered to many fans for a highly controversial 1963 suicide storyline, in which she took her own life by overdosing on pills after being rejected by love interest Neil Crossley (Geoffrey Matthews).

After details of the story leaked, backlash from fans led to the scenes being cut from the show, with the screen fading to black after she overdosed and Sheila departing from Weatherfield alive.

The 2011 documentary The Corrie Years finally aired the scenes, with Mayers commenting on the backlash to the story.

"I came out of Granada having finished and was greeted with a wall of journalists and I couldn’t believe it," she said of the cut storyline.

She continued: "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."

The Mirror reporter, Ken Irwin, who leaked the storyline, said in the documentary: "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."

Mayers played Sheila on-and-off over the next decade following her exit, giving birth to a son, Danny, off-screen, before returning to the cobbles to live with Elsie Tanner (Pat Phoenix).

She soon reconnected with old flame, Jerry Booth (Graham Haberfield), but their marriage was halted by the re-appearance of Neil, who proposed to Sheila.

Sheila went on to marry Neil in 1966, and departed from Weatherfield to live with him in Sheffield.

She returned again in 1969, before her final stint on the show in 1974.

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Molly Moss is a Trends Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest trends across TV, film and more. She has an MA in Newspaper Journalism and has previously written for publications including The Guardian, The Times and The Sun Online.