The legendary actress has had an interesting life both on and off-screen

After an incredible 50 years, Helen Worth is officially waving goodbye to Coronation Street as Gail Platt decides to leave Weatherfield, and her often difunctional family, behind.

While fans have got to tune in to the ITV soap on Christmas Day to see if Gail gets her happily ever after with her sixth husband – after her seventh wedding – what we do know is that the warring Platt family won’t make things easy and they’re set to be at the forefront of what’s to come in the new year.

News of Helen’s exit from Corrie after 50 years of playing Gail came as a shock over the summer. She made her first appearance on Corrie at the age of 23 in 1974, 14 years after the viewers were first introduced to the people of Weatherfield.

The role of Gail was initially intended to be very minor, a friend of the more established character Tricia Hopkins, who was introduced as part of a new family. While they were written out of the show, Gail, the daughter of Audrey Roberts and Ted Page, remained.

In those following 50 years, Gail has faced her fair share of joy, drama, and near-death experiences! She is somewhat of a sucker for love, having been married six times but she’s also almost been killed by one of partners – who can forget that famous Richard Hillman crash?

Confirming the reason behind her exit, Helen said in a statement: “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. I made the decision at the start of the year and spoke to the producers who were very kind and understanding.”

She added: “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. The past 50 years have flown by and I don’t think the fact that I am leaving has quite sunk in yet.”

While Helen’s on-screen life has had its trials and tribulations, the soap icon’s personal life has had its ups and downs, from a childhood loss to unfaithful marriage splits. In her life behind the cameras,

Despite having long lived in London, Helen grew up in Morecambe, Lancashire. At the age of eight, her parents fostered an 11-year-old Ghanaian-born overseas student, who remained with the family for eight years.

He left their home shortly after Helen’s mother was tragically killed in a hit-and-run accident. The actress was just 20 at the time and spoke about her devastation, saying that her mum never got to see her in the legendary role of Gail. The Daily Star reports Helen said in a previous interview: “The one person I really wanted to tell when I got the part of Gail was my mother.

“She would have been so thrilled. More excited than me. She’d been there all the way – at the dance classes, holding my hand before the competitions, putting on her best suit to take me to London for auditions. But when I finally made it, she wasn’t there to share it with me. I’d never missed her more.”

In terms of Helen’s career, she graduated from drama school and went on to work in repertory theatre, which included a year with the BBC Radio repertory company. She has had uncredited bit-parts in the films Oliver! and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, and appeared on television in the Doctor Who story Colony in Space, The Doctors, Helen: A Woman of Today, Within These Walls, and The Carnforth Practice.

But her actual first known role was in Z-Cars, a police series on BBC One, in which she played the role of Maisie for one episode. However, she was then known by Helen Wiggleworth And Helen Worth technically isn’t her real name – she was born Cathryn Helen Wigglesworth – but has apparently never explained the reason for the change.

Helen, who is now 73, has also previously opened up about her two marriages – first to the late Michael Angelis and secondly to teacher Trevor Dawson.

The soap star married Liverpool-born narrator Michael, who will be recognised for voicing Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, in 1991, after meeting years earlier in the 70s. But, just a few years after tying the knot, the couple hit rocky ground after he had an affair in 1995 and revealed his infidelity to his wife after it was leaked to the press.

Despite forgiving Michael, Helen later divorced him in 2001 when it was revealed that the star had been involved in another affair with model Jennifer Khalastchi – who he went on to marry in the same year. Speaking to the Mirror at the time of her heartbreaking split from Michael, who died at the age of 76 in May 2020, Helen said: “Nothing can ever prepare you for the day your husband sits you down and tells you he is having an affair.

“My marriage was everything to me. It was the foundation on which everything else was built. I had been with Michael for nearly half of my life. I never imagined that we wouldn’t grow old together.”

More than a decade after her divorce, Helen went on to marry Trevor in 2013, and admits it was ‘love at first sight’ with the ‘gorgeous’ music teacher from London. Speaking to her former co-star Nigel Havers on a segment on This Morning back in 2021, she said: “I met Trevor about 10 years ago and I just thank my lucky stars really.

“He’s just gorgeous.” And Trevor has previously shared how she managed to woo him. “Cooking is Helen’s department. I do the consuming. She’s really good.” But Trevor, who is seven years younger than Helen, had already been a fan of the star – regularly watching her character on screen.

“We watch the show together. I had always been a fan going back some years. I used to watch it with my mum. Of course, Gail was my favourite,” he told The Mirror in 2016. The pair actually kept their relationship private for more than a year before tying the knot in 2012 in front of many of her Corrie co-stars.