the tram crash of December 2010, Betty comforts Claire Peacock (Julia Haworth) after her husband Ashley (Steven Arnold) is tragically crushed to death by the rubble. Betty is last seen in May 2011, trying in vain to stop David (Jack P. Shepherd) and Kylie Platt (Paula Lane) from coming behind the bar to speak with Becky McDonald (Katherine Kelly). Although Betty is mentioned and referred to by various characters, her subsequent absence was not explained until February 2012, when Audrey asks Stella Price (Michelle Collins) how Betty is, to which Stella replies that Betty is "still a bit under the weather". On 16 April 2012, Emily and Rita Sullivan (Barbara Knox) arrange to visit a convalescing Betty and go to meet Gordon, who has agreed to drive them there. However, when Gordon does arrive, he brings with him the unexpected news that Betty has died peacefully in her sleep the night before. The residents of the street all gather in The Rovers Return and hold an impromptu memorial for Betty, with all of her old friends reminiscing about her. Gordon, with some persuasion from Emily, decides to have his mother buried in Weatherfield after initially contemplating London. It is later revealed that Annie left The Rovers Return to Betty in her will; however, Betty never acted on this. Gordon assures Stella that he is not interested in the pub and it will remain in her possession. Despite being one of the street's longest serving characters, Betty's funeral was held off-screen. After the wake and lock-up, Stella hangs a photo of Betty on the wall over The Rovers Return, for all to see and remember her. This photo was destroyed during a fire at The Rovers Return in March 2013 started by Karl Munro (John Michie) but, following the refurbishment, Rita managed to obtain an identical copy which remains hanging on the wall in the same place. Personality In his 1998 book The Women of Coronation Street, Daran Little describes Betty as an archetypal mother figure. He compares her to one of Coronation Streets original characters Minnie Caldwell (Margot Bryant), as she is "warm and comforting [...] loves cats and has had her share of lodgers"; however, Little notes that "while Minnie wandered through life in a haze, Betty is sharp-witted, blessed with insight and wisdom". Discussing her evolving characterisation, Little writes: "She hasn't always been the incarnation of lovable joviality: