Patricia Cutts

Patricia "Pat" Cutts (20 July 1926 – 6 September 1974) was an English film and television actress. She was the first person to portray the character of Blanche Hunt in ITV soap opera "Coronation Street", appearing in two episodes. After her death, Maggie Jones took over the role.
Biography.
Born in London, she was the daughter of the writer-director Graham Cutts. Her first roles were small parts in British films, and then from 1958 in American movies and television shows. From 1958 she appeared in "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "Perry Mason", where she played defendant Sylvia Oxman in the 1959 episode, "The Case of the Dangerous Dowager" and murderer Ann Eldridge in the 1966 episode, "The Case of the Bogus Buccaneers". She continued to work consistently in film and television on both sides of the Atlantic throughout the 1950s, including a small appearance in "North by Northwest".
As a young actress in 1959, she appeared on Groucho Marx's quiz show "You Bet Your Life" with football coach Jack Curtice as her co-contestant. She was a regular panellist on the hit DuMont quiz "Down You Go" and starred alongside Vincent Price in "The Tingler". In 1958 she appeared in the film "Merry Andrew", starring Danny Kaye. In the 1960s, she made guest appearances on such television shows as "The Lucy Show", "Car 54, Where Are You?", "Adventures in Paradise" and "Playhouse 90".
After several quiet years she returned to the UK and was in the 1972 British television series "Spyder's Web" before accepting the role of Blanche Hunt in the top rated ITV soap opera "Coronation Street" in 1974. It would have been her most high-profile regular role to date but after appearing in only two episodes, Cutts was found dead at her London flat, aged 48. An inquest into her death produced a verdict of suicide by barbiturate poisoning. The role of Blanche Hunt was taken over by Maggie Jones, who played the part until she died on 2 December 2009.