Coronation Street favourite Sally Dynevor says the soap is back to its best after a few difficult years.
Fans slammed the show for being too dark after seven characters died since the start of 2019 and there was an exodus of some of its best-known stars.
Thelma Barlow, who played Mavis Wilton for 26 years, said she does not watch Corrie regularly any more because it’s lost its warmth and gentle comedy.
But Cobbles legend Sally, who has played Sally Webster since 1986, reckons it’s firing on all cylinders again. She said: “Sometimes it has got dark, but now it’s been stripped back to how it was.
“Humour is the backbone of Coronation Street, but you go through ups and downs, to work out the right way forward.”
Her comments come as producers put the brakes on big names leaving.
Daniel Brocklebank, who plays vicar Billy Mayhew, will stay on until at least the end of next year while Andy Whyment, who plays Kirk, also has a new 12-month contract.
And character Tyrone Dobbs will also be around for another year after Alan Halsall was handed an extension.
Sally meanwhile hinted she could be ready for a fresh challenge. She said: “I’d like to do some theatre. I’ve said that for 30 years but nobody’s listening.
“I’m just going to see what happens.”
Although Sally is ready for a new challenge, Curly Watts actor Kevin Kenndy is keen to return to the cobbles.
In a chat with Daily Star Online, he said: “It’s no secret that I’d love to come back to Coronation Street.
“I still have a great relationship with ITV, and if it happens, it happens.
“I think that Curly would have some stories to tell after 16 years away.
“Coronation Street has changed a lot and evolved with the times – it’s a different soap from what it was when I was in it, but when I joined it was a different show from 10 years before that.
“It’s constantly moving and evolving and it changes for the better, I think, and Corrie deals with brilliant ideas and stories.”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk