Coronation Street creator Tony Warren dies aged 79

Coronation Street creator Tony Warren MBE has died, aged 79.

Warren died "surrounded by his loving friends" it was confirmed in an ITV statement on Wednesday morning.

The statement read: "It is with great sadness that Coronation Street confirms legendary creator and acclaimed writer Tony Warren MBE passed away peacefully last night (March 1) surrounded by his loving friends, aged 79, after a short illness."

The news was also tweeted on the soap's official Twitter account alongside a picture of the legendary writer: "It's with great sadness that Coronation Street confirms legendary creator & writer Tony Warren, MBE has passed away."

John Whiston, Creative Director, Soaps for ITV Studios paid tribute, saying: "Amid the many and much deserved tributes to Tony Warren, surely there can be no greater tribute than that the show he created 56 years ago is still the number one show on British TV.

"Tony infused Coronation Street with his own spirit, one that was at the same time dramatic and credible, exciting and grounded, funny and humane. It is Tony's spirit that has kept the show fresh and relevant all these years and will do for years to come. All who are lucky enough to work on the show owe Tony a huge amount of gratitude. As do all the millions who tune into Coronation Street week after week."

William Roache - who plays the soap's longest running character, Ken Barlow - described Warren as the "father of Coronation Street".

In a statement he said: "When I first met Tony I couldn't quite believe he'd created and written Coronation Street because he was no more than a young boy.

"It was his boyish energy even recently when I saw him again that I'll remember. I loved Tony's energy. He was the father of Coronation Street and he gave us all so much.

"He will be so desperately missed because of who he was and what he did. We owe him so much."

Warren was reportedly 24 when he came up with the idea for the show which was originally titled Florizel Street. The first episode aired on December 9, 1960.

He received several accolades for his work including the Special Achievement Award in Soap at the British Soap Awards 2000, the National Television landmark award in 2005 and was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement award at the Royal Television Society awards.

Warren was also made an MBE in 1994 for his services to television drama.