Coronation Street actor Bill Tarmey, who plays Jack Duckworth in the ITV soap, is to undergo heart surgery on Wednesday.

The 61-year-old has been a regular on Coronation Street since 1979 as half of one of much-loved soap couple Jack and Vera Duckworth.

Tarmey, who lives in Lancashire with wife Alma, has a long history of heart problems and underwent a bypass operation 15 years ago.

Since then he has been an ardent fundraiser for heart disease charities and presents the cardiac rehabilitation video for the St Helens and Knowsley Health Authority.

But he is also a heavy smoker and refuses to give up.

Tarmey has been written out of the Manchester soap for at least three weeks to allow him time to recover.

Sensitive

But he has not been involved in any of the major storylines at present so it did not cause scriptwriters too much of a headache.

"It is a private and sensitive matter, but we wish him all the best," said a Coronation Street spokesman.

"He was working up until last week. This treatment has come in a period of him being written out - he will probably need some time to recover but the main thing is that he gets well.

"He has been written out for three weeks, but he wasn't involved in any major story lines and although he is integral to the show, this is not a problem that is insurmountable."

His character on the Street has also endured a triple heat-bypass after suffering angina.