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Grandfather dies after suffering heart attack tuning into Corrie

Elderly viewer was watching a horror smash

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Dramatic soap scenes are often described as being heart-stopping, but for one viewer this sadly proved to be the literal case.

An elderly Coronation Street fan suffered a heart attack while watching the soap during a particularly tense episode and tragically died.

Trevor Murfitt is reported to have been a massive fan of the Manchester-based soap.

The 81-year-old regularly caught up with the antics of the Weatherfield residents.

But, one evening, as he watched a terrible accident play out in the soap, the grandfather went into cardiac arrest and collapsed.

Trevor, from New Zealand, was taken to hospital but died the following day, leaving his wife of 41 years, Barbara, a widow.

The episode in question featured a devastating mini-bus crash. Driver Steve McDonald, suffering from depression at the time, was driven off the road as he transported the Underworld staff to a fancy night out.

Read more: EastEnders’ cast health scare following deadly discovery

The New Zealand audience is two years old behind UK audiences.

Barbara told Stuff.co.nz: “Trevor’s last words were, ‘That bus is going to go over the edge’.

“We were all watching the screen and half a minute later I turned to look at Trevor and he’d collapsed in his favourite chair.

“We rang the ambulance straight way.”

She added: “He’s at peace now.”


Kaggie Hyland
Editor-in-Chief