in the programme from 1960 to 1973 and again from 1976 to 1984.Her character became known for her fiery red hair and was described by Prime Minister James Callaghan as "the sexiest thing on television". During her periods of absence from the series, she failed in her attempts to find suitable alternative roles. She left the series for the final time in January 1984, having filmed her last scenes during November 1983, her 60th birthday. In the story, her character moved to Portugal to meet up with an old flame until 2004 when the character died in a car crash (off screen). Phoenix's profile gained her a part in the British film The L-Shaped Room (1962) in which she played a prostitute and which also featured her future husband Anthony Booth in a small role. She was the subject of This Is Your Life in 1972 when she was surprised by Eamonn Andrews on the set of Coronation Street.. After her final departure from Coronation Street, she appeared in a one-act television play, Hidden Talents, in 1986. At this time, she was suffering from advanced lung cancer; in the play, she played a woman dying of cancer. That same year, she also starred in short-lived sitcom Constant Hot Water, playing a Bridlington landlady. In 1985, she was interviewed for a magazine by long-time fan, the singer Morrissey, who also featured her on the cover of one of the Smiths' singles, "Shakespeare's Sister". Personal life Phoenix's love life was often fodder for tabloid stories. Her first marriage was to actor Peter Marsh, whom she married in Bradford Cathedral in 1953; the couple divorced in 1961. On 23 December 1972, she married her Coronation Street co-star Alan Browning. The marriage lasted just under seven years, as Browning had alcohol-related problems and died from liver failure in September 1979. She later married actor Anthony Booth, the father-in-law of future Prime Minister Tony Blair. Phoenix wrote two volumes of autobiography; All My Burning Bridges (1974) and Love, Curiosity, Freckles and Doubt (1983). She was a practising Catholic and a lifelong supporter of the Labour Party, campaigning for Tony Blair at the 1983 general election for him to be elected as the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield where he was returned. Phoenix also campaigned with Booth for former Minister for Technology Tony Benn at the 1984 Chesterfield by-election, which Benn won. She owned the Navigation