Elsie Tanner leave Weatherfield. Her final appearance was screened at the beginning of 1984. Pat Phoenix died of lung cancer in September 1986 at the age of 62. Elsie, her character, died in a car crash, at the age of 81 in 2004 after leaving Weatherfield 20 years earlier, although it was not mentioned in the show until 2011. Elsie Tanner Elsie Tanner (also Grimshaw, Howard and Gregory) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, "Coronation Street", played by Pat Phoenix from the series inception in 1960 to 1973 and from 1976 until 1984. Elsie Tanner was one of
Elsie Tanner knowing that her life in Coronation Street had left her with no regrets. As she got into the taxi that was to take her to the train station, the driver asked her if she was to be away for long. Giving him a knowing smile, Elsie replied: "Ah! Now there's a question!". The taxi drove off into the night as Elsie left Weatherfield forever. In May 2011, following the return of her son Dennis, it was revealed that Elsie had supposedly died "six or seven" years previously after her car crashed off a cliff, with rumour having that she was