Roy Hudd collapses during filming

Roy Hudd collapsed while filming after experiencing severe chest pains.

The Coronation Street star, who plays undertaker Archie Shuttleworth, stumbled on set while next to the corpse of character Fred Elliott.

John Savident, who plays Elliott, had to get out of his coffin to help his co-star, according to The Sun, before Hudd was taken to hospital.

Doctors later diagnosed Hudd with a chest infection, to his colleagues' relief. “It was thought he was quite ill," an ITV source said. "We were all worried. He went very pale and said he felt terrible.

“But when it became apparent it was just a chest infection, everyone was laughing. The irony of it is that Fred collapsed with chest pains too — only he wasn’t lucky enough to recover.”

He was rushed to hospital in a taxi at about 1pm and released after two hours. An ITV spokeswoman later confirmed he was "fine".