She attended St Edmund's College for Girls in Princes Park, Toxteth[2] and as a teenager, she joined an amateur theatre group and took elocution lessons.

"[5] The British League for Hilda Ogden was established in 1979 by Sir John Betjeman, Willis Hall, Russell Harty, Laurence Olivier and Michael Parkinson, among others.

[3][6] In 1984, hundreds of fans sent her condolence cards after the death of her on-screen husband Stan Ogden; the actor who played him, Bernard Youens, died a few months before his character was killed off.

[citation needed] Her final scenes in the programme were aired on 25 December 1987, attracting nearly 27 million viewers, the highest number in the show's history.

[8] On 6 December 2010, Alexander spoke by telephone to ITV's This Morning to discuss her time on Coronation Street on the day of the drama's 50th anniversary episode.

[9] In 1988, Alexander made a guest appearance in the long-running BBC comedy series Last of the Summer Wine as Auntie Wainwright, the money-grabbing local junk shop owner.

Alexander voiced Mrs Santa in the Robbie the Reindeer film Hooves of Fire (1999),[3] and also appeared in Boon[4] and as Lily in the children's series The Phoenix and the Carpet.

[11] She starred with Patricia Hodge and Lionel Jeffries in the comedy series Rich Tea and Sympathy,[4][11] and appeared in the quiz show Cluedo.