ITV Heartbeat star Tricia Penrose's life after show which first aired 32 years ago

More than 30 years have passed since since period drama Heartbeat first appeared on ITV.

Heartbeat, set in the 1960s North Yorkshire, followed the lives of police officers, medical staff and other residents of Ashfordly and Aidensfield.

The popular show was a huge hit with audiences and spanned a whopping 18 series from 1992 until 2010. It is one of ITV's top-rated and much-loved dramas and even though no new episodes have been made for over a decade, fans can still watch repeats on ITV3.

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The show was responsible for launching the careers of many actors, with stars of the show going on to other popular soaps, films and theatre productions, reports the LiverpoolEcho.

One of those stars was Kirkby-born actress Tricia Penrose, who played fiesty pub landlady Gina Ward. Gina was sent to live with her uncle, George Ward, in Aidensfield after being convicted of receiving stolen goods.

After helping her uncle run the Aidensfield Arms, she later became the licensee following his death. Gina's relationships played a big part of her storylines, and many viewers will remember her on-off relationship with PC Phil Bellamy. The couple had a failed engagement in series 10, before Gina fell pregnant to him in series 13.

Heartbreaking scenes followed as the couple's son, Daniel, was born prematurely and died within two days. The death put a huge strain on the couple who later broke off their engagement again.

The couple later reunited in series 16 and were finally married. But then things took another heartbreaking turn when Phil was suddenly shot dead in series 17.

In total, Tricia Penrose appeared as Gina Ward on Heartbeat for more than