Coronation Street star died at 39 leaving two children – with tragic reason for death

Coronation Street actress Melanie Hughes, who also appeared in Cold Feet and was crowned Miss Wales in 1997, tragically passed away unexpectedly in October 2017. The star left behind her “devastated” husband Rick and two children – then-three year old Kaden and stepchild, Taylor, 16.

An inquest held months later revealed that the actress had been battling alcohol addiction and postnatal depression, reportedly consuming a bottle of vodka daily during her struggle, according to The Sun. The inquest, held in Ruthin, Denbighshire, heard that she was found collapsed on her bed at home on 8 October 2017, and was rushed to the Countess of Chester Hospital where she sadly passed away.

In the previous year, Melanie had suffered the heartbreak of a miscarriage and was distressed over the death of her grandmother, as well as her mother falling ill. Substance misuse worker Kelly Wilson told the inquest: “Melanie really was in a terrible state and there were times when even you couldn’t help her,” Mr Hughes expressed in a statement that he felt his wife had been failed by the agencies meant to assist her.

However, a post-mortem revealed that she only had a small amount of alcohol in her system at the time of her death. Coroner Elizabeth Dudley-Jones concluded that Melanie’s death was a “direct result of Fatty Liver Disease which was caused as a result of her addiction to alcohol”.