Coronation Street bosses have reportedly splashed out £250,000 to tie one of the soap’s icons down for another year.
Helen Worth, who first appeared as Gail Platt in 1974, is believed to have extended her stay in Weatherfield for another 12 months in the wake of a number of big name exits. Peter Barlow actor Chris Gascoyne recently departed the Street, with his on-screen son Simon (Alex Bain) joining him in the coming weeks.
Paul Foreman, meanwhile, who is played by Peter Ash, is to depart later in the year following his battle with Motor Neurone Disease (MND). Viewers will be delighted to see Helen feature in more storylines alongside her TV mum Audrey (played by Sue Nicholls) after the pair clashed over the latter’s boozing in recent times.
READ MORE: Dancing on Ice fans fume at judges as star ‘robbed’ after best performance yet
READ MORE: Corrie’s Simon ‘to hit the bottle like alcoholic dad’ as explosive exit plot ‘exposed’
“Helen is dedicated to the soap and is determined to help steer it through a rocky patch. She is bonded to her character and is excited about her upcoming storylines for the year ahead,” a source told the Sun.
They continued: “She still enjoys her work and seeing her castmates and crew every day.” It’s a far cry from an interview the 73-year old told the Daily Star in 2016 – in which she described her fears of being axed as new producer Kate Oakes plotted a series of shock departures in order to boost ratings. “You do get nervous. It’s new beginnings. You’re in their hands,” Helen told us.
“You just keep your fingers crossed and hope they want the character to continue.” Helen went on to emphasise the importance of older characters because they’re so popular with the show’s long-term fans.
“In real life there are older people,” she said. “So they have to be represented on the show. In fact they are a very important part of our programme. I’ve no idea how long I’ll be on the show. Let’s just see.”
Helen, who was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2022 Birthday Honours for services to drama, says she has no concerns about contributing to storylines – and is happy to leave it solely to the ITV programme’s writers. “I don’t have any input on storylines. I don’t ask questions, I just get on with the job,” she explained.
(Image: Getty Images)
Join the Daily Star Soaps WhatsApp for all the latest spoilers and exclusives
Helen continued: “I’m perfectly happy with whatever they give me. They’ve looked after me for 42 years so I leave it all in the safe hands of the writers. I work with such wonderful people. As long as I’m working with those people I’m happy.”
Her most famous storyline broadcast in 2003 when she was fooled by evil husband, Richard Hillman, played by Brian Capron. After months of tension he tried to gas Gail and her family before driving them into a canal. The scenes had almost 20million viewers gripped, but Helen hopes she won’t face anything like that in the future. “I don’t want to get wet again,” she joked.
Coronation Street airs Monday, Wednesday and Friday on ITV1 at 8pm
For more of the latest showbiz news from Daily Star, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
