Martin Platt won’t be returning to Coronation Street for ex-wife Gail’s final scenes – but one former soap star has thrown her hat in the ring to replace him
Sean Wilson was supposed to be making his big return to Coronation Street for ex-wife Gail Platt’s exit storyline.
Scenes had already been shot as Corrie favourite Helen Worth, who has played Gail for 50 years, announced she was hanging up her acting boots at the age of 73 and will be leaving the iconic ITV soap at Christmas.
Before Corrie officially revealed that Sean was back on set a few weeks ago, his character Martin Platt was set to return before Gail’s departure. It was claimed the pair would possibly reconcile, heading off into the sunset together, so unlucky in love – and five times married – Gail could finally get her happy ending.
But last month it was suddenly announced that Sean would not be returning to the cobbles to reprise his role as Martin 39 years after his on-screen debut. It’s since been revealed that Sean is ‘stepping down for personal reasons’, and his scenes have apparently been scrapped. This means that Gail’s final storyline will need to be rewritten.
While a replacement for Martin’s character has still to be announced – though Cold Feet star John Thomson is reportedly being lined up to take his place – one former Corrie star has thrown her hat in the ring.
A young Helen and Kathy, as Corrie best pals Gail and Tricia in the 70s (Image: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Kathy Jones, who played Gail’s best pal Tricia Hopkins back in the 70s, has said she would ‘jump at the chance’ to return to the famous cobbles. Now 70, Kathy appeared in 122 episodes of Corrie between 1973 and 1976, including Helen’s very first scene as Gail.
Following the news that Sean would not be returning as Martin Platt, Kathy posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Oh heck, what’s gone on? I’m here… just waiting for the call.”
She later told Metro: “I’m always open to bringing Tricia back, although I think maybe my boat has sailed. Never say never though! I think it would take a lot for the writers to resurrect her as it’s 50 years since!”
Recalling her time on set with Helen, she continued: “The very first scene [between Gail and Tricia] was quite strange, as we were supposed to be great friends but we had only met five minutes earlier while Helen was in makeup.
“But they were happy memories, as we never had a cross word. We learned our lines in different ways, but came together for the rehearsals and retakes, hopefully both word perfect. We sort of grew together.”
After she left Coronation Street, Kathy says she kept in touch with the cast and as she remained working at Granada Television would often ‘pop in to have a chat with them all’.
But since she’s left Granada, she has lost touch with a lot of them. She added: “I left pre-internet, so it wasn’t always convenient to keep in touch… but you always think you will be back. I must admit I was shcoked to hear Helen was leaving. I thought she would have stayed as long as Bill Roache [Ken Barlow]. In for the long stretch, so to speak.”
