One Coronation Street star looks completely unrecognisable after quitting the ITV cobbles more than a decade ago.
Craig Gazey played ‘loveable rogue’ Graeme Proctor on the soap. Originally serving time behind bars with David Platt, Graeme went on to land a window cleaning job on the cobbles and even struck up a romance with Michelle Keegan’s character Tina McIntyre. He was also known for pursuing Rosie Webster and vandalising the Windass house – but quickly became a beloved character.
But now the actor looks totally different, and in 2023 made his debut in drama The Bay as Ozzie Peel. Far from his fresh-faced look on Corrie, the star looked more like a lost member of Oasis in a baggy khaki coat zipped up to his neck and sporting a brunette goatee.
READ MORE: Coronation Street star unrecognisable in new role after four years on ITV soap
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Craig is now embracing a shaggier hairstyle than his closely-cropped locks on the cobbles. But The Bay isn’t his only new role, as he’s also landed a part in the 2024 AppleTV series The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin, alongside Noel Fielding.
(Image: ITV)
He made the decision to quit Corrie in 2011, after three years and 260 episodes on the soap. At the time, he confessed: “I’ve always wanted to do an eclectic mix of work and Corrie is very different to what I did before. Graeme was only meant to be in eight episodes, so I was thrilled when they asked me to stay on.
“I’m glad it was only a small part initially – if I’d auditioned for a regular character, I don’t think I would have got it,” he added. Upon his departure that summer, he confessed: “When I first joined the cast I had no idea how much I’d enjoy being part of such an amazing team. But I became an actor for the diversity of the work and the opportunity to play different roles.
(Image: ITV/Jonathan Birch/REX/Shutterstock)
“I also really miss working in theatre. I feel this is the right time to leave after two and a half fantastic years playing a unique and brilliantly written character. I don’t know what the future holds, but I hope I will be given the opportunity to show my versatility as an actor and work on different projects.”
It comes after fellow Corrie star Matilda Freeman, who played the original Summer Spellman on the cobbles, also cropped up in a new ITV show looking completely different. She’s playing Lilly in Passenger, set in the mysterious town of Chaddar Vale.
(Image: ITV)
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The actress ditched her light blonde hair for a darker auburn look and rocked a half-up, half-down ‘do with silver earrings glinting at her lobes and a dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose. She’s starring alongside Jack James Ryan, who played Jacob Hay in Corrie, in the new ITV series, along with Anna Windass star Debbie Rush.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
