Liz Dawn's husband reveals the stars heartbreaking final words

The widower of Coronation Street legend Liz Dawn has revealed her gut-wrenching last words to him just moments before she died.

Don Ibbetson was keeping watch at his beloved wife of 52 years' bedside with their four children in her weak final hours on September 25.

He revealed that just minutes before dying, the 77-year-old clutched his hand and told him: 'You don't know how much I loved you, Don. I did from the very first moment we met.' 

Don recalled how Liz died in the bed of her flat less than a mile from the TV studios where she played beloved Corrie battleaxe Vera Duckworth for 34 years.  

'It still feels a little unreal Liz has gone,' he told The Sunday Mirror as he described the heart-rending moment she passed away.

He added: 'She'd come through so many problems, so we all thought she was kind of unbreakable. But she battled until the end.'

After her 'peaceful' death, he and their children stayed up all night sharing their memories of her extraordinary life.

Don revealed all of Liz's loved ones came to visit her in her final days, and she even got to see her new great-grandson who was only a week old.

Liz also had a visit from her great grand-daughter Rose, with her grand-daughter Courtney Swan sharing a sweet photo of the icon cradling the baby in her arms.

Courtney wrote at the time: 'My gran found so much joy from being a great-grandma. I am so blessed that my girls got to experience her infectious spirit and character.

'She never lost her humour and wit throughout her illness and would always light up a room.'

Liz, who fought a 16-year battle with the lung condition emphysema, had a heart attack in September and was discharged from hospital so she could be at home with family.

Don revealed that when she first came home he could talk to her, but as she became weaker it became too difficult to speak. He added that he found relief in being able to sleep by her side in her final nights.  

Following her death, her family said in a statement: 'We are devastated and heartbroken at the passing of our much-loved wife, mother, sister, grandmother and great grandmother, the incredible Liz Dawn.

'Liz died peacefully last night at home with her loving family around her. She has been the love, light and inspiration in our lives and we are bereft at her passing.'

The widower also opened up on their first meeting in a pub in Leeds when he was an electrician.

He joked that he found her 'a bit annoying' because she kept asking 'daft questions' but was soon smitten with her and thought she was 'gorgeous'.

He took Liz, who had a son with her estranged husband at the time, on a date to Scarborough for the day and returned soon after for a week-long holiday camp break. 

It was then that he got to witness her talent when she entered a singing contest and won, recalling to the Sunday Mirror: 'She brought the house down. My heart was bursting out of my chest.'

Don fondly recalled how after Liz fell pregnant while still married to her ex-husband, they had to hastily get an approval for a divorce.

The soap actress, who was eight months pregnant when they got permission, covered her baby bump with a fur coat when they tied the knot at Leeds Register Office with the parents, he said.

Don explained that they moved into a council flat weeks later, when Dawn, the first of their three daughters was born.

Ibbetson, who constantly encouraged Liz to pursue a career in showbusiness, revealed the entire family were incredibly proud when she got her life-changing Corrie gig in 1974.

Liz's funeral was held at Salford Cathedral last Friday, with co-stars, family and friends gathering to remember the actress. 

Heartbroken Don was comforted by family as his wife's coffin was lifted from the hearse and blessed, before being carried into the cathedral. The organist played the Coronation Street theme tune as her coffin was brought in.

Their son, Graham, told the congregation the family only learned a few weeks ago that medics had told the actress they did not expect her to live beyond five years after her 2001 diagnosis of emphysema.

In her final days the condition was very different to her health challenges over the previous years, he said.

'It was crucial that Mum spent her final days at home with her family,' he said. 'Mum was so pleased to be home, smiling, happy. Further delighted to see her grandchildren and great grandchildren visit her at home.'

Her son said his mother had met royalty, politicians and high profile names from the world of arts, sport and business but meeting Pope John Paul II in the Vatican in 1998 was 'very special'.

'This reflected a moment in her life that she knew for certain would make her mum Annie so proud,' he said. 'I am sure Annie was looking down on mum that day.

'But mum also knew this resonated to millions of ordinary people, everyday people, working hard to support their families. She understood that. She knew them. She was one of them.

'No matter who met mum - at any place, at any time and in any circumstances - all of them laughed and walked away smiling, happier. That is mum's legacy.'

In keeping with her family spirit, the iconic actress' ashes will be buried at a family plot in Manchester. 

Born Sylvia Butterfield, the actress was best known by her professional name Elizabeth or Liz Dawn, and started her showbusiness career as a nightclub singer. She was awarded an MBE in the 2000 birthday honours.

She had four children and was married twice - to miner Walter Bradley in 1957, with whom she had her first child, and to electrician Donald Ibbertson in 1965.

Leeds-born Dawn first appeared in Coronation Street in 1974 before her character moved into number nine along with husband Jack, played by the late Bill Tarmey.

After being diagnosed with emphysema, Dawn was written out of the soap in 2008 when Vera died in her sleep. 

This article was first published on dailymail.co.uk and is reproduced here with permission.