15 July 2010 Last updated at 14:49 ET

Bread actress Gilly Coman dies aged 54

At the height of its fame Bread attracted more than 20 million viewers

The actress who played Aveline in the 1980s Liverpool sitcom Bread has died from a suspected heart attack.

Gilly Coman, 54, played the Boswell family's flame-haired sister for five series of the hit comedy, before leaving to have a baby in 1989.

Brought up in Wavertree, Liverpool, she joined the Elliot Clarke drama school on Rodney Street when she was seven.

Ms Coman also appeared in Brookside, Boys from the Blackstuff, Coronation Street and Emmerdale Farm.

Written by Carla Lane, Bread attracted more than 21 million viewers for the episode when Aveline married Protestant vicar Oswald in 1988.

Ms Lane said: "She was a nice girl, a good actress and she never questioned the lines I gave her.

"She knew how to walk to make people laugh and she knew the character better than I did."

When Ms Coman, a mother-of-four gave up her part it was taken over by Melanie Hill, who played Aveline for the final two series.