Coronation Street cast: New, leaving and returning characters | The Sun

THE new year has already brought plenty of fresh drama in the cobbles.

Months ahead will be explosive, as teased by bosses. Here's your guide to all the comings and goings in Coronation Street.

Fiz Dobbs (Jennie McAlpine) – leaving

The year 2022 ended on a high note for Underworld machinist Fiz Stape as she FINALLY tied the knot with on-off flame Tyrone Dobbs.

But soap legend Jennie McAlpine had some great news of her own off-screen.

The actress recently announced she was expecting her third child with her husband Chris Farr.

"Alan [Halsall aka Tyrone Dobbs] was the first person I told", she told OK! Magazine.

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"I was thinking, 'I might not be feeling brilliant and if you bring any butter near me I might feel sick'. We've been busy, so he's really looked after me – and the bosses."

"They all know and they're all really happy. We might have to start hiding Fiz behind a washing basket again!"

As of January, 2023, the Fiz star is six months pregnant, meaning she'd be leaving our screens during the summer or earlier.

But will she be gone for long?

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How will her exit be planned?

Shona Platt (Julia Goulding) – returning

Julia Goulding deserted our screens recently as she recently gave birth to her second child, a daughter called Emmeline.

On-screen, Shona Platt took her and David's daughter Lily to London to help her pursue her dream of being a professional footballer, leaving the barber to deal with Max Turner alone.

Jack P. Shepherd told Metro: "Shona’s gone to look after Lily in London. She’s on some footballing course that James Bailey’s organised."

"He’s teaching her football and Shona’s looking after her down there, like a chaperone for six weeks while Julia’s on maternity leave."

"So David’s the only one to try and sort Max out and hopefully stop him before it goes too far with all the right-wing stuff."

But when will Julia Goulding be back?

Owen (Ben Hull) – joining

After her failed romance with Leo Thompkins, Jenny Connor will be kicking off Spring 2023 with a new love interest.

Former Hollyoaks star Ben Hull is joining the Corrie line-up in March as a man named Owen and the Rovers landlady will struggle to remain indifferent.

However, with a murderous Stephen Reid roaming around her, it could be hard for Jenny to form a connection with Owen without him ending up on the businessman's hit list.

"Smooth-talking Owen will set the cat among the pigeons as the rep for an American company interested in Sarah and Michael's new business", a teaser read in Inside Soap.

"But it's not just loungewear that Owen sets his sights on, once Jenny catches his eye."

"What's more, Stephen has invested in Michael and Sarah's business, and won't take kindly to someone muscling in on his turf. Is Owen set to give Stephen a run for his money?"

Will Stephen resort to murder again to eradicate his competition?

Teddy Thompkins (Grant Burgin) – left

Speaking of Stephen Reid's hit list, Grant Burgin's Teddy Thompkins was unable to escape the murderer's wrath.

During the festive season, Teddy grew more and more suspicious of Stephen but was run over after a tense confrontation with the murderer.

Thankfully for him, Teddy survived the incident with no recollection of their conversation, thus allowing Stephen to catch a break from all his scheming.

But that didn't last long as Teddy soon began to remember his conversation with Stephen – and solved the mystery of his son Leo's disappearance.

In doing so, however, he made it clear to Stephen he couldn't be trusted and was thus killed in violent scenes aired in January, 2023.

Justin (Andrew Still) – joined

Former Hollyoaks and Waterloo Road star Andrew Still made his Corrie debut when his character, Justin, bumped into Daisy Midgeley by chance at the hospital.

At the time, Daisy was terrified she may have to battle breast cancer, but she was given the all-clear.

Unfortunately, Justin took a deep liking to her and this developed into an unhealthy obsession.

Justin has been relentlessly stalking Daisy as she gets ready to walk down the aisle with Daniel Osbourne.

How far will he go?

Damon Hay (Ciaran Griffiths) – joined

The end of the year brought a new tough man to Weatherfield.

Former Shameless actor Ciaran Griffiths joined the line-up as Jacob Hay's father, Damon.

Jacob was shocked to see his father rock up the cobbles after cleaning up his act and enjoying a happy relationship with Amy Barlow.

Speaking of the new arrival, Coronation Street producer Iain MacLeod said: "Damon is charming and likeable on the surface but we will soon see he is much more complicated than that as he goes on to have an explosive impact, both in Jacob’s life and beyond."

Damon, who is none other than Harvey Gaskell's brother, became involved in business at the Bistro by smuggling drugs.

His deeds also caused his son Jacob's departur from the cobbles.

Jacob Hay (Jack James Ryan) – left

As mentioned above, Jacob managed to get back on to the straight and narrow with help from his girlfriend Amy.

But when his father rocked up the Street, he was thrown into a tricky corner.

In heart-breaking scenes aired in January, 2023, Jacob was pressured by Damon over missing drugs and insisted he'd need to leave Weatherfield for good.

The lad broke Amy's heart by making her believe he was dabbling in crime again and departed in a taxi.

His sudden exit left fans scratching their heads.

Could he decide to get revenge on Damon?

Harvey Gaskell (Will Mellor) – returned

Corrie's evil drug boss Harvey Gaskell made an explosive return from jail after targeting Leanne Battersby.

Actor Will Mellor, who plays the on-screen, returned to the cobbles on October 22, 2021, during ITV's action-packed Super Soap Week.

Speaking to OK! Magazine about his return to the show, Will mentioned he would have wanted to see a more permanent end to his character.

"I was all for them killing Harvey off. It would've been a good ending", he said.

Before adding: "I wanted to go in, make a splash, and come out."

But soap bosses had other plans for him.

In August, 2022, it was confirmed the Strictly star had been filming new scenes as his character Harvey.

His ruthless alter ego came back in November as a young Sam Blakeman tried to find answers for his mother's death.

Laurence Reeves (Robert Shaw Cameron) – joined

Following his breakup with Frank, Sean bumped into handsome dentist Laurence.

Since his arrival, the latter has everyone wrapped around his little finger.

But after charming Sean, trust issues emerged when it became apparent that he wasn't being fully honest about who he is.

It was then confirmed that he wasn't the most upfront of partners after he kissed Todd Grimshaw, betraying Sean's trust.

Todd and his mother Eileen decided to look more into his past and he could be keeping a deep dark secret involving infidelity and murder.

Griff Reynolds (Michael Condron) – left

Game of Thrones star Michael Condron was cast as fellow activist Griff who rocked up the cobbles amid Spider Nugent's return.

He began appearing in the show on a regular basis in September, 2022.

But unlike undercover copper Spider, Griff wreaked some serious havoc in Weatherfield.

The dodgy activist took an interest in troubled teen Max Turner (Paddy Bever) as part of a hard-hitting grooming storyline.

More importantly, he was also at the root of a brutal attack as he tries to spread his racist agenda across the cobbles.

It soon became clear Griff had bigger plans for Weatherfield residents as a bomb was discovered during Maria Connor's Peace Market.

Alya Nazir thankfully thwarted Griff's plans, putting her life in danger.

Griff was eventually arrested for his racist deeds in January, 2023, although his legacy tries to live on and Max Turner has to pick up the pieces.

Dee-Dee Bailey (Channique Sterling-Brown) – joined

Channique was announced as a new face in the Corrie line-up in September, 2022.

Dee-Dee Bailey is the daughter of Ed and Aggie Bailey and is a solicitor based in Los Angeles.

She had first planned to return home for her father's birthday in 2019.

After taking an interest in Stu Carpenter's case, she found work at local law firm Barlow Legal Services.

Glenda Shuttleworth (Jodie Prenger) – joined

Stage star Jodie Prenger made her childhood dreams come true by securing herself the role of George Shuttleworth's sister, Glenda.

The newcomer first appeared in the show in August, 2022, and became an instant favourite amongst Coronation Street fans.

This was mostly due to Glenda saving the day after her brother couldn't take part in a funeral that had already been planned.

Since then, Glenda has found her mark, most notably by working behind the Rovers bar.

What's in store for her?

James Bailey (Nathan Graham) – left

Actor Nathan Graham decided it was time for him to move on from Coronation Street after three years.

On-screen, his character was promoted to Weatherfield County FC's first team in 2021.

But earlier in 2022, James collapsed during a local match with the Rovers Return Inn.

He was later diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, which put his football career in jeopardy.

James was dropped by the squad and took a job as a coach at a youth centre in Lewisham.

Leo Thompkins (Joe Frost) – left

Hunky Leo made his first appearance in the Street in September, 2021.

He immediately set his sights on Jenny Connor but only pursued her after she had mourned the loss of her former husband Johnny.

The pair eventually dated despite a considerable age gap, which led to multiple disagreements, and even planned to move to Canada together.

But after Jenny shared a kiss with Stephen, Leo began to catch on to the businessman's unlawful plans and vowed to turn him into the police.

Leo was killed by Stephen in brutal scenes aired in 2022.

Stephen then covered his tracks by disposing of Leo's body and making Jenny believe he had left for Canada without her.

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Kelly Neelan (Millie Gibson) – left

Wayward teen Kelly Neelan will be following both of her parents out of Weatherfield in an upcoming storyline.

Millie Gibson's impending exit from the Manchester-based program was confirmed during the summer of 2022.

Some fans have speculated her character could be killed off but soap bosses and the actress remain tight-lipped.

18-year-old Millie recently celebrated the end of her three-year stint in Corrie after filming her last scenes, alongside some of her favourite co-stars.

Shots of her final scenes have been leaked and Millie is said to be bowing out of the program as her on-screen alter ego fights with her father figure Gary Windass – and special effects have been used for a proper send-off.

Millie Gibson moved on to other projects and bowed out of the soap in explosive scenes as Kelly Neelan survived another kidnapping ordeal amid her rushed engagement to Aadi Alahan in late 2022.

She finally got closure for her father's death when she found out that Gary Windass had murdered him.

Unable to cope with the truth, Kelly walked out of Gary and Maria's home, heading away from Weatherfield and into the night.

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Coronation Street airs every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8pm on ITV.

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