When Bet Lynch and Cecil Newton's impromptu wedding ceremony ended in disaster before it could begin when the groom collapsed with a heart attack on the threshold of the church in Blackpool, he was rushed to Victoria Hospital where Bet waited with Fred Elliott for news. The Sister took her to Cecil's bedside, after mistakenly asking for "Mrs Newton", and Bet spoke to her unconscious fiancé. After a few moments, the ECG machine started to emit a constant beep and the Sister called for a crash team but it was too late. Cecil was dead and his son, Philip Newton, who had done everything he could to stop the wedding inherited his father's riches.