Corrie's Betty says she won't be killed off in tram crash

Betty Driver, who plays Coronation Street's Betty Williams, has promised fans she will survive the soap’s 50th anniversary cull – and aims to be pulling pints when she is 100.

In a wonderful interview with the Manchester Evening News, Betty says: “I’m not leaving. You’ll have to shoot me to get rid of me. I’m 90 and I aim to be 100 and still working.”

Betty, who has spent a lot of time off work this year with pneumonia, was speaking at the official opening of a new oncology unit at the private Alexandra Hospital in Cheadle. A thousand balloons were released into the air to mark each cancer patient who has been treated at the old unit.

The new Richmond Centre is part of a £7.5m revamp for the hospital, where Betty and her late sister have been treated in the past. Betty said: “It’s a beautiful centre. I like to get involved in things like this. I did it mainly for (fellow Street actress) Sally Dynevor who had breast cancer.”

Watch a video of Betty Driver opening the new oncology unit via the wonders of YouTube.