Elizabeth Bradley Margaret Elizabeth Bradley was born in Hampstead , London on 20th May 1922 , the youngest of two daughters born to senior civil servant Sir John Abraham and his housewife wife . She was educated at Wentworth School and had a desire to act since she visited a pantomime at the age of seven . She left school at the age of seventeen but the outbreak of World War II caused her to decide to study nursing . Liz joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment with the British Red Cross and she worked at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in London . As the war came to a close , Liz discovered her father , who had been deputy under - secretary at the Air Ministry from 1940 , had died in Winston Churchill ' s private plane when it crashed in 1945 . No one in her family had worked in show business , but Sir John , who had come to London from farming stock in Macclesfield , Cheshire , enjoyed the theatre , and delighted in taking his daughter to any performance remotely suitable for a child ; from those trips her interest in theatre grew . After VE Day , Liz joined the Webber Douglas Academy where she studied acting and met an Army officer , Garth Adams . The couple were married in 1950 . Liz joined various repertory companies including Guildford , Bromley , Leicester , Brighton , Hornchurch , Liverpool , Exeter and Bournemouth . In 1952 , Liz and Garth had their first child Johanna and Liz began a thirteen year break from acting . Her two sons Bradley and Rodney followed . Liz has had a successful career and has appeared on stage in productions such as " The Importance of Being Ernest " , " My Mother Said I Never Should " , " Misalliance " , " A Case For Question , Three Sisters , Seachange , Caritas , The Crucible , Black Snow , The Happy Breed , Flare Path , Uncle Vanya , Hayfeaver , Salonika , Women Beware Woman , The Mating Game , Abingdon Square , The Fastest Clock In The Universe " and " Billy Liar " . She has worked for the National Theatre and has toured the Middle East and Far East as well as working at The Royal Court . She was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for her role in " Billy Liar " in 1993 . On TV Liz has appeared in the BBC productions " Take Three Girls , Dr Findlay ' s Casebook , Softly Softly , Chronicle , The Nine Tailors , A Traveller In Time , Waterloo Sunset , The Cartland Murder , Pass More , London ' s Drowning , The Citadel , Leaving , Juliet Bravo , Spring Birthday , Bergerac , Casualty , Living Lies Lately , The Men ' s Room , Rides , Resnick " , and " An Ungentlemanly Act " ( 1992 ) as Nanny . She also had roles on television in " Z Cars , The Sweeney , Shine On Harvey Moon , Tales of the Unexpected , An English Christmas , The Bill , Boon , The Piglet Files " and " Going Home " . On " Coronation Street " she first appeared as Mrs Thornley in December 1971 and as Councillor Adams in April 1978 , before returning to the programme in 1993 as " mother - in - law from hell " Maud Grimes , the role she played until 1999 . Liz has also appeared in the following films : " An American Werewolf in London " ( 1981 ) as Woman in Zoo ; " Brimstone and Treacle " ( 1982 ) as Woman Passer By ; " The Marla Hanson Story " ( 1991 ) as Jeannie ; " Memento Mori " ( 1992 ) as Mrs Anthony ; " A Little Bit of Lippy " ( 1992 ) as Great Aunt Annie After leaving " Coronation Street " she returned to the stage in London ' s West End to appear in Alan Bennett ' s " Lady In The Van " , playing opposite Dame Maggie Smith . In 2000 she suffered a stroke whilst holidaying in the south of France with her son , TV producer Bradley . She was taken to the Princess Grace Hospital in nearby Monte Carlo but died on 30th October 2000 , aged 78 .