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Former Coronation Street star Liz Dawn would have died if she had not stopped smoking.
Her physician Professor Ashley Woodcock said the actress was told that she had only a third of her lung capacity left when she was diagnosed with emphysema in 2004.
The 68-year-old, who played Vera Duckworth on the soap for 34 years, had smoked for 50 years when she was told to give up five years ago.
Dawn gave Sir Trevor McDonald's Tonight access to Professor Woodcock and allowed the programme to film a visit to Manchester's Wythenshawe Hospital.
Woodcock said: "Liz came to me about five years ago really pretty desperate. At that point she could walk just a couple of yards... she was in a really bad way.
"She'd smoked a lot of cigarettes in her life and she came along with lung function that was very poor. Stopping her smoking was really critical and she did that... which has been great because she wouldn't be here now... if she hadn't stopped."
Dawn told the ITV1 show that she now takes eight forms of medication to combat the disease, saying: "I wouldn't be here now if it wasn't for the medication that I'm on. I just wouldn't be able to function."
She revealed last August that she had struggled to get through some days on the Coronation Street set because of her illness. She filmed her final scenes on the ITV1 soap in December.
Liz Dawn - Fighting For Breath: Tonight airs tonight on ITV1 at 8pm.
