Jack James Ryan may be waving goodbye to the cobbles but it's likely he won't be waving goodbye to the friends he made as he gushed about his co-stars in his exit chat. In scenes aired on the ITV soap on Friday night (January 13), the actor bowed out of the soap after nearly two years as Jacob Hay.
During Jacob Hay's first appearance in Weatherfield back in 2021, Corrie viewers were horrified as he groomed an impressionable Simon Barlow into joining a drugs gang while also tormenting his grieving mum, Leanne Battersby. And it wasn't long before he disappeared off the screen having crossed drug lord Harvey Gaskell, who has recently been revealed as his uncle.
But returned in 2022 and struck up a relationship with Amy Barlow which was initially met with disapproval. But with Amy, played by Elle Mulvaney, standing by him, Jacob managed to turn things around. He bagged a job at Underworld from Carla Barlow and even moved in with Amy at No.1 Coronation Street.
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However, all that has been derailed by the arrival of his dad, Damon, who has attempted to drag his son back into his murky job world. And after having to get rid of thousands of pounds worth of drugs when a delivery at the Bistro went wrong, Jacob is in deep trouble.
And as a result, he's had to leave the cobbles. During his exit scenes, viewers saw Jacob take a horror beating from Damon in the ginnel, and told him he needs to leave in order to keep Amy safe. But before he goes, Jacob tells Nick how his dad is smuggling drugs through the restaurant and he has no choice but to leave as Amy's life is in danger.
Later, hearing Amy entering the flat, a desperate Jacob pretends he’s on the phone dealing drugs leaving Amy horrified to think he’s up to his old tricks, giving him an excuse to get out of Weatherfield. But Jack has shared how the pair really worked hard at their on-screen relationship, which saw them nominated for an Inside Soap Award, and also gushed over his on-screen girlfriend.
"Listen, Elle is an absolute dream. That girl deserves every accolade and I love her so much," he sweetly said. "But from the start we both wanted this to work and we knew we had to throw everything at it. From the get-go, we were ringing each other up every night talking about what we were going to do with the scenes and we'd work through scene sand constantly bringing stuff to the table."
He added: "We just wanted to make it authentic and believable and I think it also helps that we are such good friends outside of the show and I think that naturally led into the work."
But Jack did admit to being nervous when he found out that Jacob was going to be paired for romance with Amy. "I was so nervous when I found out that they were pairing us," Jack said. "Amy is like the nation's sweetheart and she's a firm fan favourite so for me I thought it was going to go one of two ways. They [the viewers] were either going to love them or they were going to hate them. But they seemed to really get behind us from day one.
When asked who he will miss most now he has said his goodbyes on the ITV soap, Jack revealed some of his unlikely friendships. "I've made some friends for life," he told us. "Jane Hazlegrove [Bernie Winter] and Sue Devaney [Debbie Webster] have acted like mums to me. Really looked after me.
"And the incredibly talented Ali King [Carla Barlow] and Jane Danson [Leanne Battersby] I have learned so much from. Of course the in-laws, Simon Gregson [Steve McDonald] and Kate Ford [Tracy Barlow], who are soap legends for a reason. They are just note perfect in every scene and just the nicest people.
"Of course Alex Bain [Simon Barlow] who I started this whole journey with, who treated me like a brother from day one, and lastly I have to mention James Craven [Aaron Sandford], Harriet Bibby [Summer Spellman] and Elle who have been my absolute rocks. The dream team and the best friends I could have really asked for."
But he did confess: "To be fair, I won't really miss them that much considering I've seen them every week since I've left." And as a last hurrah, Elle was even hosting a farewell episode viewing party at her house for the little Corrie gang.
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