Coronation Street character to leave soap after 21 years in emotional scenes

Coronation Street has confirmed the departure of a major character who has been with the ITV soap – which airs on Virgin Media in Ireland – for 21 years.

The character will bow out in upcoming scenes, with the actor playing him leaving the role after 16 years with the show. Sad scenes will see the character be waved off, heading out of Weatherfield for good.

It follows reports and comments from cast members about the sad exit news, before the actor in question broke his silence in recent weeks. The Barlow family lose another of their clan next week, as spoilers reveal Simon Barlow leaves the street to join his dad Peter Barlow on his boat.

Peter left the street after decades in December, while following that his sister Tracy Barlow also appeared to leave the show for good in a surprise twist. Now it’s Simon fleeing the cobbles and his family, as he heads off for a new start after troubling times on the show, including a drink-driving crash.

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Now new spoilers have revealed sad scenes next week show the moment Simon leaves and waves goodbye to his loved ones. They gather to send him on his way, with stepmother Leanne Battersby in floods of tears.

The scenes will spark a new mystery with the character involving some cryptic messages, after she went AWOL to a retreat with ‘the institute’ for weeks, without contacting her family. Back to Simon, and it marks the end for the character for now, 21 years after he was born on the show.

Actor Alex Bain has played the role for the last 16 years, since he was a child. Alex recently spoke out about his exit after initial reports suggested he quit, only for it to be later claimed he was written out by bosses. In March, Alex put up a picture on Instagram from his dressing room mirror, and he seemed to be saying goodbye to the role.

Writing alongside his upload, Alex penned: “Well my day is done! Nice and short day today! I’m gonna miss this little space some dearly when I go!” The actor went on to write: “So glad I’ve got some shooting days left! So thankful! “

Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on Virgin Media.

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