Coronation Street cast: New, leaving and returning characters

WITH plenty of drama ahead for the rest of 2022, many faces have come and gone from the cobbles – and more changes are ahead.

Get the lowdown on all the comings and goings on Coronation Street.

Kelly Neelan (Millie Gibson) – leaving

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.

More Corrie stories

BEEFA BABE

Corrie star Lucy Fallon poses in eye-popping bikini on £300-a-night girls' break

KEEPING SECRETS

Corrie fans say the same thing as Spider Nugent reveals his shocking secret

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.

How will her exit play out on screens?

Spider Nugent (Martin Hancock) – returned

The eco-warrior’s return to the cobbles was announced ahead of Imran Habeeb’s tragic death, following a car crash.

Toyah Battersby was reunited with her former boyfriend as she was taking part in a protest, in June, 2022.

He has since been a source of support for her as she faces trial for the murder of Imran in upcoming scenes.

Martin Hancock first appeared in Coronation Street as Spider in 1997 and the character left to broaden his horizons and spent several years in London before ending up in Peru.

But he may have an ulterior motive for coming back to the Street.

Griff (Michael Condron) – joining

Spider isn’t the only eco-warrior to be wreaking some havoc in the cobbles.

Game of Thrones star Michael Condron has recently been cast as fellow activist Griff who rocked up the cobbles amid Spider’s return.

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

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 a the day after her brother couldn’t take part in a funeral that had already been planned.

But what’s in store for Glenda and why did she come to Weatherfield?

Dylan Wilson (Liam McCheyne) – returned

After a guest stint in November, 2020, Liam reprised the role of Dylan in January, 2021.

The 13-year-old was reunited with his dad Sean Tully (Antony Cotton) and returned on a permanent basis on January 18, 2021, as Coronation Street tackled homophobia in a new plotline.

“He’s going to come back full-time. We’ll see it in stages, as Sean gets used to Dylan being around”, said Antony to Digital Spy about his on-screen son’s return.

“I can’t wait for it, as it gives me a totally different dynamic. I’m hoping we’re going to become a little duo and it is completely unique.”

Since then, Coronation Street fans were eager to see more of Dylan.

He eventually returned in 2022 and made a huge decision about his future.

In recent Corrie scenes, the lad decided he didn’t want to go back to London to his mother’s but, instead, remain with his father Sean.

Phill Whittaker (Jamie Kenna) – left

After a year in the cobbles, actor Jamie Kenna moved on to another project.

On-screen, however, Phill Whittaker was involved in a tense love triangle after his secret book project was uncovered and revealed by Hope Stape.

Phill was trying to make amends with Fiz after planning to write a book on serial killer John Stape – and he popped the question.

While she agreed to marry him, Fiz was eventually caught up by her feelings for her former flame Tyrone Dobbs and she ran away from her own wedding reception, leaving Phill a broken man.

Phill tried to save the short-lived marriage but was forced to sign annulment papers, letting Fiz live her life with Tyrone.

He left the cobbles in July, 2022, soon after saying goodbye to Fiz.

Could he return?

Emma Brooker (Alexandra Mardell) – left

Alexandra announced she would be quitting Coronation Street in February, 2022.

For four years, she has played Steve McDonald’s (Simon Gregson) secret daughter Emma.

The sad news was confirmer by Corrie boss Iain MacLeod who has teased that Emma could return.

But, for now, Alexandra is waving goodbye to the cobbles.

“Playing Emma, on the most iconic street there is, has been the best experience of my life. But I feel it’s the right time for me”, she said.

The actress will be filming her last scenes in March, 2022, and will bow out of her role the following month.

This has led to fans predicting a shocking prison twist for her character as Emma was involved in pensioner Ted’s death alongside Faye Windass.

The unlucky-in-love got a happy ending after meeting Jon Spear, the grandson of the late pensioner.

When he found she was involved in his grandfather’s death, Jon showed her forgiveness and whisked her away to Australia with him.

Linda Hancock (Jacqueline Leonard) – returned

The Chesney-Brown family is slowly getting over the drama surrounding Joseph’s disappearance earlier in the year.

But actress Jacqueline reprised her role in February, 2022.

The mother of Katy Armstrong left for Portugal in 2015 and hadn’t been seen in the cobbles since.

She paid Chesney and Gemma a visit and learned about Joseph’s kidnapping ordeal.

Linda then thought of taking her grandson with her to Portugal and away from Weatherfield.

Another member of the Armstrong family soon came out of the woodwork.

Izzy Armstrong (Cherylee Houston) – returned

As Linda intervened when she realised that Chesney was struggling to keep his family in balance, her second daughter Izzy got involved.

Actress Cherylee Houston returned to Coronation Street as headstrong Izzy.

She immediately berated her mother for meddling in Joseph and Chesney’s bond.

The first member of her clan to be introduced to ITV viewers, before later being joined by her father Owen and sister Katy, Izzy hadn’t been seen since June, 2021.

She appeared one last time in a video call, after a first brief return in April, 2021.

Two months earlier, it was revealed that Cherylee would not appear in the show for a while as she had to isolate due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The soap star was shielding since March, 2020, due to a rare connective tissue disorder called Ehlers-Danlos, making her particularly vulnerable to the illness.

Laura Neelan (Kel Allen) – left

Betraying her daughter Kelly hasn’t helped Laura receive the warmest welcome.

The wayward mother portrayed by actress Kel Allen – who teased her comeback on social media – turned up in the cobbles earlier in February, just was her daughter settled in with Maria and Gary.

Laura came back to announce some devastating health news, claiming she only has months to live due to stomach cancer.

Knowing her mother’s dishonest ways, Kelly is in disbelief but slowly softens up.

Eventually, Kelly came to terms with her mother’s illness and took it upon herself to take care of her.

But when Laura did some digging and found what really happened to her missing husband Rick, she made a decision to save Kelly – but not their relationship.

Laura Neelan took the blame for the loan shark’s murder, knowing she wouldn’t be going to prison due to her condition.

She died in hospital in April, 2022, while her daughter Kelly, who was initially still angry with her for her supposed part in Rick’s death, was on her way to share her last moments with her.

Nicky Wheatley (Kimberly Hart-Simpson) – left

After breaking up with Lydia Chambers (Rebecca Ryan), Daniel Osbourne (Rob Mallard) was slowly but surely rekindling his romance with Rovers barmaid Daisy Midgeley (Charlotte Jordan).

But a third woman soon came along.

Daniel met escort Nicky in 2020 and hired her to help him with his grief over his late wife Sinead.

Nicky offered him comfort by cuddling him while wearing Sinead’s clothes.

Both took their bond to the next level, however, when Daniel stole money from Geoff Metcalfe to pay off her debts.

This then allowed Nicky to leave escorting for a new life with her daughter.

However, Nicky will be making a return to Weatherfield, as actress Kimberly announced in a post shared on Twitter, in December, 2021.

The character came back to the cobbles in June, 2022, trying to start afresh with a teaching assistant position at Weatherfield High.

But Daisy felt insecure about her connection to Daniel and tried to sabotage their friendship.

There was worse in store for Nicky.

Eventually, and despite her best efforts, her past as a sex worker was exposed, making her new beginning harder to achieve.

Daniel supported her, even breaking up with Daisy when he believed it was who ruined Nicky’s chances.

This led to Nicky admitting she harboured romantic feelings for him, but they were unrequited.

In July, 2022, it was confirmed by actress Kimberly Hart-Simpson confirmed on social media that her storyline was over and that she had filmed her final scenes in the program.

She’s even landed a new role.

Marrium Nazir (Kiran Landa) – left

The ex-wife of Zeedan Nazir, Marrium arrived in Weatherfield on her own in December, 2021.

She came to apologise to her ex-husband for her father and brothers’ behaviour.

But while she was eager to giver their marriage another chance, forgiving Zeedan for the cheating that led to their separation, Marrium had no idea he left her father Hashim to die from a heart attack.

Speaking of which, the young woman was less than happy to see her brother rekindle his relationship with Marrium and was determined to protect her family.

Marrium soon found out there had been conflict in Zeedan’s family as his past with money laundering came to light.

He initially lied to her about what he had done, leading her to believe his deceitful nature hadn’t changed.

But when Alya told him he had to make a choice between his wife or his family, Zeedan went a step further by lying to her, telling her he had actually never loved her and was only interested in her family’s cash.

Broken by the fake confession, Marrium packed her bags and left the Street in January, 2022.

Lydia Chambers (Rebecca Ryan) – left

Rebecca was added to the Corrie line-up in December, 2021, when her character Lydia befriended Sarah Barlow.

Things become awkward very quickly as Lydia eventually admits to Sarah he has had a fling with her husband Adam while they were at university.

While Sarah is not happy about the revelation, she decides to keep seeing Lydia.

However, some viewers are convinced that Adam could be the father of Lydia’s son Finn, while the new character does not seem impressed by Sarah and her hubby.

Harvey Gaskell (Will Mellor) – returning

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.

After escaping from a prison van to seek revenge, Harvey once again terrorised Leanne Battersby, who desperately tried to protect her son Simon from his and his gang, by kidnapping her and making plans to murder her.

Harvey then fell into a sinkhole, leading Leanne to believe he was dead.

But the accident didn’t kill Harvey and he shot Natasha (Rachel Leskovac), mistaking her to be Leanne, with the gun Abi Franklin (played by Sally Carman) was hoping to kill Corey Brent with for the death of her son Seb.

Hiding in Nick’s car after his mistake, Harvey was spotted by Leanne and her partner, as she voluntarily drove the vehicle into a skip.

Harvey was knocked unconscious by the incident and it was later revealed he had been “apprehended and incarcerated with the help of Roy Cropper.

Will previously told The Celeb Report on Sunday that he’d been left horrified after viewers asked him to sell hardcore drugs to them after seeing his character on screen.

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.”

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

I'M FLOORED

Two-bed home could be yours for a low £4k - but it's missing a key feature

TIME WASTERS

I’m a cleaning pro, 4 products you should ditch that are a waste of money

HIs ruthless alter ego is set to return to the cobbles but no precise date for his comeback has been made official.

Coronation Street airs Monday, Wednesday and Friday on ITV.