The end of an era.
Coronation Street has announced that longtime cast member Helen Worth will be leaving the soap after 50 years.
Helen has decided to step down from her famous role as Gail Rodwell at the end of this year, shortly after celebrating her golden anniversary on the show in July.
“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,” said Helen in a statement.
“I made the decision at the start of the year and spoke to the producers who were very kind and understanding.
“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,” she continues.
“The past 50 years have flown by and I don’t think the fact that I am leaving has quite sunk in yet.”
Coronation Street bosses have confirmed that the actor will begin filming her exit storyline next month, which will involve a major storyline for the Platt family.
The emotional scenes will be on screen at the end of the year.
Worth’s first appearance as Gail Potter – as she was then – was in July 1974. She arrived on the cobbles in a minor role as a friend of Tricia Hopkins (Kathy Jones), who at the time was a more established character.
Gail has been married five times, with her having two children – Nick Tilsley and Sarah Barlow – with first husband Brian Tilsley, who was tragically killed while trying to protect a woman outside a nightclub.
Gail later married Martin Platt, with whom she welcomed son David. After their divorce, she went on to marry Richard Hillman, who turned out to be a serial killer and tried to murder the entire Platt family in a dramatic storyline.
Her brief marriage to Joe McIntyre ended when he died in 2010, shortly after telling Gail he intended to fake his own death to escape money troubles.
She later found love with and married Michael Rodwell, who tragically died of a heart attack in 2016 while serial killer Pat Phelan watched on and refused to get medical help for him.
“The words ‘legend’ and ‘icon’ get used a lot these days but they genuinely do apply to Gail and to Helen Worth,” said Corrie’s executive producer Iain Macleod.
“However, given her humility, I know Helen won’t thank me for saying so!
“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!”
Calling Helen “a consummate professional” and “a thoroughly good egg”, he concluded: “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.”
