Overview
- An official notice carried in The Times and Equity says Mayers died on 27 June 2026, and that notice prompted renewed obituary coverage in July and again in October 2026.
- She was best known for playing factory worker Sheila Birtles on Coronation Street, appearing in 161 episodes across 13 years between 1961 and 1974.
- In 1963 producers planned a suicide storyline for Sheila that was leaked to the press and then rewritten after a fierce public backlash, a controversy later revisited in ITV’s 2011 documentary The Corrie Years.
- Mayers began acting at about 15 with the Oldham Repertory Theatre and her credited TV work beyond Corrie includes roles listed in public filmographies such as Keep It In The Family and I’m Not Bothered.
- Fans and industry figures paid tribute online and in press responses, and the coverage has spurred renewed interest in early Coronation Street archives and the ways viewer reaction shaped 1960s TV drama.