CORONATION Street legend Maggie Jones is seriously ill after an operation.

The much-loved 75-year-old, who plays Deirdre Barlow's battleaxe mother Blanche Hunt, was taken to Salford Royal Hospital on Saturday.

She underwent emergency surgery for an existing condition and was today described as 'very poorly'.

Officials from the soap have revealed her straight-talking character has been written out of future episodes. But they said rubbished reports in the national press that she had fallen and ruptured her spleen.

A spokesman told the M.E.N.: "She hasn't had a fall or ruptured her spleen. She was taken in on Saturday for emergency surgery.

"What is important now is that she concentrates on getting better. The details of why she is in hospital are a private matter. What I can say is that everyone here is wishing her a speedy recovery."

Maggie, a widow, has played the bold-as-brass character since 1974. She is based in London but stays at the Marriott Victoria and Albert Hotel just yards from Granada's Manchester city centre HQ during filming.

Last year she was taken to hospital after suffering a fall. She managed to hobble to the set and insisted she was OK before medics there sent her to Accident and Emergency.

The veteran actress, who trained at Rada, won a gong for Best Comedy Performance at the British Soap Awards in 2005 and 2008 for the role.