The iconic character said farewell to the cobbles tonight after 50 years on the soap – and fans had a lot to say about the way her exit was handled
Coronation Street fans all had the same complaint over Helen Worth’s last scenes as as Gail Platt, after an impressive fifty-year run.
Earlier this year, the actress announced her permanent exit from the show. At that time, she expressed: “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,” reports Lancs Live.
“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.”
Fans who watched the Christmas Day episode saw Gail say her goodbyes to Weatherfield, and following David Platt’s heartfelt speech, they took to social media to share their thoughts.
On X, previously known as Twitter, one viewer wrote: “I don’t think Coronation Street will ever be the same without Gail.” Another commented: “I’m not actually sure if I’m interested in watching Coronation Street after Gail leaves. It all seems to be going a bit sideways.”
Gail has left Weatherfield for good(Image: ITV)
One fan remarked: “David’s [Platt] right, the street won’t be the same without you Gail,” while another was moved to tears: “Gonna blame it on the booze but I’m a sobbing mess this is so emosh i don’t want Gail to leave.”
One social media user couldn’t hide their emotions, sharing: “Aw that tugged on the ole heartstrings I can’t lie and you could tell the actors emotions were genuine. It’s going to be really weird without Gail, she’s a #Corrie staple!”
Another ITV enthusiast expressed their deep-felt sorrow, writing: “Incredibly sad to see the end of Gail Platt. A small screen legend. All the best, Gail.”
Reflecting on Gail’s departure from the beloved show, Corrie producer Kate Brooks remarked: “This is a story with the Platts at the heart of it, it’s really festive, basically it’s a story about family and how secrets impact and implode on a family, so there’s a lot of betrayals, lots of secrets are exposed during this episode and it will like classic Corrie with a bit of a twist.”
Brooks added: “I think we’re all in need of a bit of escapism at the minute and we’ve had quite a dark but brilliant few months on the cobbles. The Christmas period for us is all about trying to tap into the family dynamics of the Platts, what makes people tick and ultimately trying to make sure that we give glorious Gail the exit that she deserves.”
“She’s been such an icon on the street for such a long time – 50 years of television, which is amazing – and we can’t tell a story on Christmas Day about her exit without it feeling and being steeped in nostalgia, and there’s tons of nostalgia in this episode and hopefully people will be crying, they’ll be laughing, there’ll be gasps as people watching it go, ‘Oh my goodness, that’s just happened’ but yeah, old school Corrie but just with a real modern twist and I think people will really really enjoy it.”
Coronation Street is on ITV at 8pm Monday, Wednesday and Friday and available to stream from 7am on ITVX
