Coronation Street actor James Craven has confirmed his departure from the soap, describing it as "very sad".
His character Aaron Sandford has been at the centre of a major storyline in recent months after being accused of raping friend Amy Barlow after she drunkenly passed out beside him.
The consent storyline saw Amy turn to alcohol to numb her pain before dropping her allegation when she realised the fees would cost parents Steve and Tracy their business.
READ MORE: Met Eireann in new ‘heatwave’ update as maps give date ‘much warmer’ weather on way for Ireland
Viewers of the ITV soap, which airs on Virgin Media in Ireland, saw Aaron leave in emotional scenes on Friday night.
Actor James has since confirmed he will not be returning to the cobbles, Mirror UK reports. He has been part of the show since April 2022 and worked as a mechanic in Webster's.
Speaking following his departure, James admitted he is sad to be leaving after making lots of great friends.
He said: "It’s obviously very sad, it's been a lot of fun and I’ve really, really loved my time there. I met so many great people and I've made so many good friends for life. But I'm excited, I'm really, really excited to get on and go on and do other things."
When asked about his next career move, he added: "There’s a couple of things I've got coming out but I can't really say too much at the moment."
James also hinted that his exit as disappointing on a personal level but "realistic" given the subject matter.
He continued: "I was always hoping that he would admit it or have some sort of admittance. I liked that there wasn’t anything particularly overly dramatic about it, and I think unfortunately that is quite realistic, because there are so many of these cases in real life where people don't face justice and people aren't prosecuted for it. So I think whilst that's obviously quite a hard thing to come to terms with for Amy, it is sadly quite realistic.
"I never wanted him to get away with it but I think it's one of those things that he's now got to live with it, knowing what he's done.
"I do feel very proud, from the beginning I knew how much work I was going to put into it and I knew how much work everyone at Corrie has put into it. As soon as we got started I knew it was going to be a really positive storyline in the long run so it’s something that I feel very proud of. It’s something that I hope the fans have enjoyed and more than anything have started to think about."
READ NEXT:
- Christy Dignam funeral LIVE as celebrities join family and friends to say final goodbye
- 'I arrived home and found someone parked in my drive - so I made sure to ruin their weekend'
Join our new WhatsApp community! Click this link to receive breaking news and the latest headlines direct to your phone. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
