“Coronation Street” actress Helen Worth is leaving her role as the matriarch of the Platt family after 50 years on Britain's longest-running television show.
“This year seemed like the perfect time to leave the show after celebrating 50 years in the most wonderful job on the most wonderful street in the world,” the 73-year-old actor said in a statement on ITV. “I made the decision at the beginning of the year and spoke to the producers, who were very kind and understanding.”
As filming begins on her final scenes as Gail Rodwell, ITV called Worth's upcoming departure “an important story for the Platt family.” Those scenes will air this fall.
Worth's decades on the show, in which she began as the character Gail Potter and by marriage had the last names Tilsley, Platt, Hillman, McIntyre and Rodwell, have spanned more than 4,450 episodes. Gail saw “Coronation Street” through some of its most exciting and controversial plots.
The actor's early years on the show featured Gail's complicated teenage years, including losing her virginity to a married man. In 1998, viewers of “Coronation Street” met Hayley Cropper, the first transgender character to appear on British television. This was overcome in 2000 by a backlash when Gail's 13-year-old daughter Sarah Louise Platt became pregnant. Gail's marital setbacks even caused a surge of energy when a record 17 million fans tuned in to watch her homicidal husband Richard Hillman (Brian Capron) commit murder.
Worth’s career has been praised: she received a lifetime achievement honor at the 2014 British Soap Awards and was nominated for a BAFTA for “unmissable moment” in 2019. Executive producer Ian Macleod rated Worth’s performance in “Coronation Street” as “legend”, adding that she had completely established herself as “one of the greats of Corrie”.
“Gail has provided us with countless hours of entertainment,” Macleod said in the ITV statement. “Everyone connected to the show will miss having it on location as much as viewers will miss having it on their screens.”
Hundreds of fans flocked to the comments on an Instagram post saying goodbye to the star to share their heartfelt surprise and sadness. “Corrie without Gail is…incomprehensible. Surely this calls for a national bank holiday? one user asked.
Some lamented the character Gail's five marriages, all of which ended in divorce or death. “May it finally have a happy ending, please!” One fan urged the network.
A day before the Worth news, actor Alex Bain announced on “Coronation Street” Instagram that he was leaving the show after 16 years in the role of Simon Barlow.
Fans shared how “Coronation Street” had stayed with them for generations as they faithfully watched actors like Bain on screen.
“He came on the show when I was 13, now I'm 28,” one fan wrote. Bain's co-star Jane Danson commented that it was the “end of an era.”
Meanwhile, Worth expressed disbelief that his half-century career was coming to an end.
“I have been truly blessed to have received the most incredible scripts week after week and to have worked with fantastic actors and directors and a brilliant team,” she said in the statement. “The last 50 years have flown by and I don't think it's yet fully sunk in that I'm leaving.”
