The character recently took a break from Weatherfield as she struggled with the death of her brother, Paul Foreman

Coronation Street fans said they were ‘thrown’ by Gemma Winter-Brown’s change as she returned to the cobbles in new scenes. The character recently took a break from Weatherfield as she struggled with the death of her brother, Paul Foreman.

Gemma, played by Dolly Rose Campbell, has recently been off screen while she was away in Portsmouth, but she made her comeback in Monday night’s (December 16) episode of Corrie.

She was hit with the shock news that her husband’s step-dad Les Battersby had been killed in an accident at work – and that he and Leanne Battersby and Toyah Habeeb were being offered money to keep quiet about what happened.

Appearing agitated, Gemma was seen sorting laundry at home after returning from her holiday, when she pointed out to husband Chesney that he “hadn’t said one thing” about her new look as she ditched her bleach blonde locks for brunette tresses and a fringe.

“I’m sorry, it looks lovely,” Chesney replied, before going on to explain why he had kept the news of Les’ recent death a secret from her until she was home before they went on to disagree about what to do next, as with Gemma keen for the money to help their family, Chesney has suspicions about how Les’ death occurred.

But Corrie fans were quick to comment on Gemma’s new look. @ElloTeenah said: “Gemma not being blonde is throwing me. #Corrie.” @kate_d68220 commented: “#Coronationstreet #Corrie Gemma’s new hair is lovely!” @DaniTheLibra added: “They don’t have much money but they can afford for Gemma to have her hair done (We know it’s most likely a wig in real life as the actress has really short hair) #Corrie.”

In real life, actress Dolly-Rose, who has played Gemma in the ITV soap since 2014, recently showed off her new shorter hairstyle, showcasing a cropped, curly look in October. In the photo, Dolly-Rose showed off the new style and was seen sporting rounded tortoiseshell glasses as she appeared to be enjoy some time in the sunshine with an ice-filled drink.

She simply captioned the post with the heavy heart exclamation emoji before her Corrie co-stars took to the comments to gush over her latest snap.

Jane Hazlegrove, who plays on-screen mum Bernie Winter in the soap, said: “Beautiful woman!” Joel Deering actor Calum Lill replied: “Love this!” Former co-star Alexandra Mardell commented: “Loooooove!! Miss yewwww curly girlie,” while Catherine Tyldesley posted: “Love.” Emmerdale star Ash Palmisciano, who plays the Dales’ Matty Barton added: “Love your hair.”