Coronation Street fans were left gobsmacked during the latest visit to Weatherfield as Imran Habeeb died following a tragic car crash.
It was announced earlier this year that actor Charlie De Melo was leaving the ITV soap after playing the loveable lawyer for five years.
His final scenes played out during Wednesday (June 1) evening’s dramatic episode.
Speaking about his decision to quit Corrie, Charlie told Daily Star and other press that he initially wanted to leave back in 2020 but coronavirus put a spanner in the works.
He explained: “My first couple of years working there were trying and I did find it difficult so as I was heading to the second year and I kind of made the decision to move on.
“I was ready to draw a line under my time in Manchester but then Covid struck. The decision kind of got taken out of my hands and it was more of a sensible choice to stay.
The actor went on to reveal that he found out about his character’s dramatic departure storyline on a Zoom call with boss Iain McLeod last year.
“Initially it was like ‘Oh my god’ because he’d given a long pitch and he throws in this bombshell,” he said.
“Once the news sort of settled in it was like ‘Oh no, is this them really salting the earth because they dislike me that much that they don’t want anything to do with me anymore?’
“A little while later Iain did speak to me in regards to the decision making behind it and said that it wasn’t an easy decision and just in terms of the story itself there really was no other option for Imran.
(Image: Getty)
“He could do the back of the cab stuff but that kind of disregards all the fight he’s had for his son, he could leave and take the son with him but then you’re left with another childless Abi [Webster] and you can’t do that or he could leave with Abi but Sally Carman isn’t going anywhere and so the only other option was to bump him off.”
Charlie admitted that he’d hoped to return to the Weatherfield in the future before being informed of Imran’s deadly demise.
He explained: “I’d like to have gone back and settled with familiar faces but that option has been taken off the table so I have no other option but to look forward.”
“I’ve taken many keepsakes. A few bits that aren’t specific to me like a Rovers beer mat and a Roy’s Rolls place holder thing and also I’ve been wearing Imran’s ring since I’ve left without realising.”
Coronation Street continues Thursday on ITV at 7.30pm
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
