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
Dennis Tanner absence. His return made it the longest any actor in "Coronation Street" has taken a break. His return aired on 12 May 2011. It was announced on 14 December 2013 that Lowrie was to leave "Coronation Street". He departed, alongside co-star Sue Johnston, who plays Gloria Price, on 21 February 2014. Dennis returned again briefly for another storyline from April to July 2014. In his fictional backstory, Dennis was born on 1 April 1942 to Elsie and Arnold Tanner (Frank Crawshaw). When his parents' marriage collapses in 1945, Arnold left Elsie to bring up Dennis and his older sister Linda