Coronation Street Corrie

[Barbara On A Broomstick]

 

[Barbara On A Broomstick]

Helen Worth to Bid Farewell After 50 Years on the Cobbles​

Wednesday 5 June at 1:00pm

Coronation Street legend Helen Worth celebrates her golden anniversary on the show next month, and it will be a momentous occasion for her in more ways than one.

Not only will she be celebrating 50 years on the nation’s best loved soap, Helen will also be looking forward to a very different future, as she has made the difficult decision to step down from her role as Gail Rodwell at the end of the year.

Half a century after she first walked onto the cobbles, viewers will see Helen and Gail bid farewell to Weatherfield in a major storyline for the Platt family.

Helen will start filming her exit story next month and the emotional scenes will be on screen at the end of the year.

Helen said: “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.

“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.”

Executive Producer Iain Macleod said: “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! 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!

“Her ill-fated marriage to Richard Hillman was one of the most ground-breaking stories in soap history and cemented Gail’s already established status as one of the Corrie greats. 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.”
https://www.itv.com/coronationstreet/tags/news
https://www.itv.com/coronationstreet/articles/the-women-of-weatherfield

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

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As I’ve probably mentioned on here before, I haven’t watched Coronation Street with any regularity for years but Gail was always a favourite of mine. Her battles with meddling mother in law Ivy were great to watch as well as the various dramas surrounding her many marriages. Like many of the older cast, she’s been turned into more of a comic relief in recent years from the bits I’ve seen but she even pulls that off well although she’s best at the dramatic stuff. She’s a classic Corrie character so her departure will be a big loss to a show.

 

[Barbara On A Broomstick]

Agree there @Carrie Fairchild

I gvve up on Corrie a long time ago but Gail was great back in the day - meddling Ivy, R Bryan as Ivy called him, Richard Hillman, spats with Sally and Eileen

she was great , i would tune in to see what happens to her and how they will write her out - but poor Audrey!!

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

she was great , i would tune in to see what happens to her and how they will write her out - but poor Audrey!!

I’ll also tune in and yes, poor Audrey was one of the first things I thought too. They were such a good double act. I’m sure Sue Nicholls will miss having Helen on the show as a lot of their storylines were so intertwined over the years. Also, for longer term fans, it’s a big loss, as Gail’s departure will leave only a handful of characters (Ken, Rita, Audrey, Kevin, Sally) that existed during the show’s golden age of Ena, Elsie, Annie and Hilda etc.

 

[Barbara On A Broomstick]

Also, for longer term fans, it’s a big loss, as Gail’s departure will leave only a handful of characters (Ken, Rita, Audrey, Kevin, Sally) that existed during the show’s golden age of Ena, Elsie, Annie and Hilda etc.

There are very few class players left in Corrie, Roy cropper and carla were always good, and Ken, Audrey and Rita - but im afraid Corrie lots its way, lost its northern wit, drama and pathos and when Billy bounced 200 feet + from a cliff then was up walking a few weeks later and the annoying Gemma ?? is that her name, gave birth to Quads in a cable car - its was bye bye from me!

 

[Walford Boy]

I hope Gail has a happy ending in a similar vein to Elsie and Hilda.

 

[Barbara On A Broomstick]

I hope Gail has a happy ending in a similar vein to Elsie and Hilda.

Does Corrie know how to do happy these days!!?? Surely her exit will have a health/mental health warning!!

 

[Whovian]

So Martin Platt's return for Gail's exit storyline has been scrapped despite them already filmed 3 weeks (edit: might only have been 1 week apparently) worth of scenes for the storyline.

Apparently he was called into the office and dismissed. Don't think that's something done regularly. Speculation it could be due to his recent comments panning the shows writing and acting. Hopefully it is that rather anything worrying about Helen Worth who hasn't been seen since March.

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

So Martin Platt's return for Gail's exit storyline has been scrapped despite them already filmed 3 weeks (edit: might only have been 1 week apparently) worth of scenes for the storyline.

Apparently he was called into the office and dismissed. Don't think that's something done regularly. Speculation it could be due to his recent comments panning the shows writing and acting. Hopefully it is that rather anything worrying about Helen Worth who hasn't been seen since March.

The official line from ITV is that he “has stepped down from filming for personal reasons”. You’d wonder what’s gone on, considering it’s quite late in the day to have to rejig Gail’s exit storyline.

 

[Whovian]

I think for Gail's exit, it would be best to copy Elsie's exit and just have her leave in the back of a taxi with archive audio and video clips playing for a few minutes. It would be a nod to the close relationship between the two. That's assuming Helen is able to film any new scenes, as her current absence suggests she's not filming. Would be sad to see a character as long-running as Gail just disappear from the programme.

 

[Whovian]

For some bizarre reason known only to the powers that be at ITV/Corrie they're going to bring back John Thompson as Jesse Chadwick as part of Gail's exit storyline. Answers on postcards?

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

For some bizarre reason known only to the powers that be at ITV/Corrie they're going to bring back John Thompson as Jesse Chadwick as part of Gail's exit storyline. Answers on postcards?

Very random, if true, as based on his character bio (I didn’t watch it when he was in it first time around) he didn’t appear to share any storylines with Gail. If it is true, it looks like it may be too late for complete rewrites and they’re just slotting Jesse in as the love interest who’ll whisk Gail away, instead of Martin.

 

[Walford Boy]

Although the Gail exit storyline is too silly for words, I hope Gail has a happy ending.