{"id":409585,"date":"2026-02-05T16:33:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T16:33:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/409585\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T16:33:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T16:33:14","slug":"bbc-eastenders-and-itv-coronation-street-actress-dead-at-104-as-tributes-flood-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/409585\/","title":{"rendered":"BBC EastEnders and ITV Coronation Street actress dead at 104 as tributes flood in"},"content":{"rendered":"

Actress Elizabeth Kelly, celebrated for her appearances in both EastEnders and Coronation Street, has died aged 104. <\/p>\n

The veteran performer passed away on Christmas Day 2025, with news of her death confirmed this week.<\/p>\n

A private funeral service will take place at St. Peter’s Church in Scarborough on February 17.<\/p>\n

Father Eddie Gubbins, who regularly visited Ms Kelly to administer holy communion at her care home, paid tribute to the late actress. “She was a very strong lady and had a beautiful voice,” he told The Sun.<\/p>\n

The priest, who last saw Ms Kelly in early December, believes she died of old age, though no official cause has been confirmed.<\/p>\n

“She had a very peaceful death in the end. She was a beautiful lady and very gracious,” Father Gubbins added.<\/p>\n

Ms Kelly remains best remembered for her portrayal of Nellie Ellis in EastEnders, a role she inhabited from December 1993 until 2000. The Newcastle-born actress featured in 138 episodes of the BBC soap during this period.<\/p>\n

Her character was introduced as Lou Beale’s cousin, making her first appearance at Pete Beale’s funeral before subsequently moving in with the Fowler household.<\/p>\n

\"Elizabeth<\/p>\n

Elizabeth Kelly (right) starred as Nellie in EastEnders<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

BBC<\/p>\n

Nellie was frequently depicted in conflict with Arthur Fowler, played by Bill Treacher, the husband of her niece Pauline, portrayed by Wendy Richard.<\/p>\n

The character developed an unlikely bond with Gretchen Franklin’s Ethel Skinner, with the pair often sharing drinks at The Queen Vic despite their differences. <\/p>\n

They eventually became neighbours in sheltered accommodation, and Kelly’s final scenes came following Ethel’s death in 2000.<\/p>\n

Kelly’s television career began in 1971 when she made her small screen debut at the age of 50, playing the miserly Edie Burgess in Coronation Street. <\/p>\n

\"Elizabeth<\/p>\n

Elizabeth Kelly starred in EastEnders from 1993 to 2000<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

BBC<\/p>\n

In the ITV soap, her character was Emily Bishop’s sister-in-law and mother to Freda.<\/p>\n

Her first screen appearance came earlier in an uncredited role in The Beatles’ film Magical Mystery Tour.<\/p>\n

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, she accumulated credits in programmes including A Family at War and Grange Hill, later adding Emmerdale, Heartbeat and The Bill to her extensive CV.<\/p>\n

Ms Kelly also appeared in the Australian soap Home and Away and took on multiple roles in both Heartbeat and its spin-off The Royal.<\/p>\n

\"Elizabeth<\/p>\n

Elizabeth Kelly starred in several major soaps<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

BBC<\/p>\n

On the big screen, she featured in Without a Clue, The Savage Hunt and the cult Manchester music scene film 24 Hour Party People alongside Steve Coogan.<\/p>\n

Born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne on 29 May 1921, Kelly embarked on her acting career in the late 1960s, building a body of work that spanned four decades.<\/p>\n

Beyond the screen, she performed in theatrical productions such as Murder in the Cathedral, Getting Married and A Man for All Seasons.<\/p>\n

Her final acting role came in 2007 with an appearance in The Royal, after which she stepped away from the profession.<\/p>\n

Kelly reportedly spent her later years with family in North Yorkshire before her health declined, necessitating moves to various care homes where she was visited by Father Gubbins for communion.<\/p>\n

She was widowed at the time of her death and is survived by her son and daughter, along with several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Actress Elizabeth Kelly, celebrated for her appearances in both EastEnders and Coronation Street, has died aged 104. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":409586,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[243,6491,830,2525,96,347,2331,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-409585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-bbc","tag-celebrities","tag-celebrity","tag-coronation-street","tag-entertainment","tag-itv","tag-sgg","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=409585"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/409585\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/409586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=409585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=409585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=409585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}