Helen Worth, who’s been playing Gail Platt on Coronation Street since the 1970s has confirmed that she’s to leave the show.
Worth, who’s 73, first joined the cast in 1974 and has been at the centre of some of the soap’s biggest storylines. That included her daughter, Sarah, becoming pregnant at 13; her marriage to serial killer Richard Hillman; and being imprisoned for the murder of another husband, Joe McIntyre.
In total, she’s had 6 marriages during her time on Coronation Street.
“This year felt 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.
“I made the decision at the start of the year and spoke to the producers who were very kind and understanding,” she explained.
“I have been truly blessed to have been given the most incredible scripts week in week out, and to have worked with fantastic actors, directors and a brilliant crew.
“The past 50 years have flown by and I don’t think the fact that I am leaving has quite sunk in yet.”
She will leave the show in a “major storyline” for the Platt family at the end of the year.
“The words ‘legend’ and ‘icon’ get used a lot these days but they genuinely do apply to Gail and to Helen Worth. However, given her humility, I know Helen won’t thank me for saying so!” added Iain Macleod, Executive Producer.
“In Helen’s hands, Gail has been a huge part of Coronation Street for five decades and at the centre of some of the most memorable storylines – often deriving from her catastrophically bad luck in choosing husbands!
“As the matriarch of the Platt clan, her affectionately prickly relationships with her kids and flighty mum Audrey epitomise what makes the show great: complicated family dynamics brought to life impeccably by Helen’s dramatic and comedic chops, alongside those of her fictional clan.
“Gail has given us countless hours of entertainment but it should also be said that Helen herself is a consummate professional and a thoroughly good egg.
“Everyone connected to the show will miss having her around the place just as much as the viewers will miss having her on their screens and we wish her all the very best for the future.”
