Barbara Ferris, a former Coronation Street star, has died at the age of 85.

The star’s death was confirmed by her family. Barbara is the sister of Call the Midwife star Pamela Ferris, and died on May 23 of this year.

Barbara portrayed the role of Nona Willis in the ITV soap in 1961. She left after appearing in 9 episodes.

She is also known for her role as Dinah in the movie Catch Us If You Can, from 1965. Her character was a love interest for Dave Clark and eventually, they eloped together.

The actress married film producer John Quested in 1960. Together they have three children called Nicholas, Christopher and Catherine.

Her final film credit was that of 1990’s The Krays.

Barbara, also a former model, retired to prioritise family life, and travel.

It was revealed last month that, for the first time ever, Coronation Street and Emmerdale will air a crossover episode.

ITV’s flagship soaps have announced the one-off special edition to mark a new broadcast pattern that will launch in 2026.

It was announced earlier this year that both serial dramas will air in what has been dubbed as a ‘power hour’ from 8pm, Monday to Friday. Ultimately it means that both shows will lose a half an hour episode per week.

This event is the first time that soap worlds have collided in an official capacity – though we have seen small crossovers for Children in Need and to highlight climate change in the past.

Producers have confirmed that the episode will be marked in ‘spectacular style’, with production teams from Leeds and Trafford working together to achieve an ‘ambitious’ stunt’ that will have ‘everlasting consequences’ for the communities of Weatherfield and Emmerdale.

An ‘ingenious’ way of merging the two has been devised by those behind the scenes, although it’s understood that the characters will then return to their respective environments after the ep.