Patricia Cutts 20 July 1926 6 September 1974 was an English film and television actress She was the first person to portray the character of Blanche Hunt in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street It would have been her most highprofile regular role to date but after appearing in only two episodes Cutts was found dead at her flat in Chelsea London aged 48 An inquest into her death produced a verdict of suicide by barbiturate poisoning From Wikipedia