Lark Ascending soundtracks controversial Coronation Street death
21 January 2014, 11:22 | Updated: 21 January 2014, 12:15
The controversial on-screen death of Coronation Street character Hayley Cropper was soundtracked by Ralph Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending.
The scene, in which Hayley (played by actress Julie Hesmondhalgh) ends her own struggle with pancreatic cancer by mixing a lethal cocktail of medicine, ended with her on-screen husband, Roy Cropper (played by David Neilson) putting on a CD of Hayley's favourite piece, Ralph Vaughan Williams' The Lark Ascending.
Roy then lies down on the bed next to Hayley in her last moments as the music plays in the background.
Reaction to the scene in the press has praised the long-running soap opera's bravery in taking on the heavy subject matter, and the performances of the two leads.
The piece has been a perennial favourite in the Classic FM Hall of Fame, topping the list in 2007 and 2008. Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis has also been a good performer in the chart over the years, regularly featuring in the top 10.
