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
Carla Connor Carla Connor Carla Connor (also Gordon and Barlow) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, "Coronation Street", played by Alison King. She made her first appearance on screen during the episode airing on 1 December 2006. Carla has been referred to as "the new Elsie Tanner". This was King's second role in the soap as she previously played Mrs. Fanshaw for one episode in 2004. King was off-screen from February 2009 until October 2009 due to her maternity leave. In May 2012 King announced she would be temporarily departing, her departure scenes aired on 16 July 2012