Helen Worth was a Coronation Street staple for five decades, but the actor has said her final year on the cobbles cemented her decision to quit.
The actor, 75, is opening up about leaving the ITV soap in 2024 after playing beloved character Gail Platt since the 1970s.
Worth said she enjoyed the majority of her time on the show, but found herself “rattling a little bit” towards the end due to the busy workload.
“It was only a bit towards the end when I got a bit tired,” Worth said in a new interview. “But the first 49 years were a dream.”
She told The Sun: “I had good and bad days… but then you forget the bad days and you just remember the good days.”
Worth’s episode count hit just under 4,500 before her departure in the soap’s Christmas episodes in 2004.
Speaking about her departure, Worth said at the time: “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.”
Worth’s character Gail holds several Corrie records, including being the series’ most married-female, having wed six times, one behind Steve McDonald (played by Simon Gregson).
She also made her mark in one of the most controversial stories of the day when her 13-year-old daughter Sarah (Tina O’Brien) became pregnant in 1999.
Other narrative arcs include her proximity to a number of murders, including marrying serial killer Richard Hillman (played by Brian Capron), being imprisoned for the murder of her husband Joe McIntyre (Reece Dinsdale), and locking her son David Platt in the cellar of a Bistro after she discovers he is going to kill his late wife Kylie’s murderer.
Her many street brawls with frenemy Eileen Grimshaw (Sue Cleaver) will also go down in soap history.
The Platt family remains a fixture on the soap, with Sarah set to find herself at the centre of forthcoming episodes. In the soap, she is set to play detective after increasing concern for her friend Todd Grimshaw (Gareth Pierce), who is married to the abusive Theo Silverton (James Cartwright).
In 2023, Worth was awarded an MBE for services to drama. Receiving the honour from Prince William, the actor said: “It just feels absolutely wonderful. To collect an MBE is very special.”
Worth’s exit from the soap arrived shortly before a string of departures rocked the cobbles, including cast members Sue Cleaver (Eileen Grimshaw), Charlotte Jordan (Daisy Midgeley), Katy Cavanagh (Julie Carp) and Colson Whitehead (PC Craig Tinker).
Veteran Corrie star Andy Whyment, who plays the endearing Kirk Sutherland, hit back at claims that the show was in trouble, following reports of a cash crisis behind the scenes.
“There is a story about Coronation Street in the press nearly every day at the moment,” he wrote on Instagram.
“I’d just like to say that the show is not on its knees and there is most certainly not a cast revolt as one article has said. Please don’t believe everything you read.”
