Another Coronation Street legend 'set to leave' Weatherfield after decades on the soap

Sue Nicholls might be on the verge of quitting Coronation Street. The veteran actress, 80, has been portraying the character of hairdresser Audrey Roberts in the ITV soap since 1984. With the recent announcement that her on-screen daughter Gail Platt, played by Helen Worth, is set to depart after an impressive tenure of over 50 years, former scriptwriter Daran Little has suggested that Sue may also decide to leave.

On X, formerly Twitter, Daran commented: "My gut feeling is Sue [Nicholls] won't want to stay long without Helen. No insider knowledge, just a feeling."

Daran, who initially joined Granada Studios as an archivist post-university and contributed to Coronation Street scripts from 2000 to 2010 before switching to write for EastEnders, expressed his intrigue at the social media reaction to Helen's decision to step away from her iconic role. He observed a significant display of affection towards Helen, reminiscent of the response to Julie Goodyear's departure as Bet Lynch in 1995.

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He further remarked: "All the posts about Helen Worth leaving [are] fascinating... such an outpouring of love, it's as if she's died! Got me thinking that's she's probably the first 'icon' character to leave the soap since social media started the previous one, I think, was Julie Goodyear after 25 years."

In her heartfelt announcement, Helen Worth said: "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 reflected on her career, saying: "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." Looking back she remarked: "The past 50 years have flown by and I don't think the fact that I am leaving has quite sunk in yet."

Helen is set to begin filming her departure storyline next month, with the poignant episodes expected to air at the end of the year. First appearing on the soap as Gail Potter in July 1974, Helen was notably seven years older than her character, who was initially portrayed as being 16 years old.

Her character's history includes marriage to Brian Tilsley (played by Christopher Quinten) from 1979 until 1987, during which time they had Sarah (Tina O'Brien) and Nick (Ben Price). Despite remarrying in 1988, Brian's character met a tragic end when he was fatally stabbed.

Gail's subsequent marriage to nurse Martin Platt (Sean Wilson) in 1991 resulted in the birth of David (Jack P. Shepherd), but this relationship too ended in turmoil in 2001 after Martin's affair with Rebecca Hopkins (Jill Halfpenny) came to light amidst Sarah's teenage pregnancy struggles.

In 2002, she tied the knot with Richard Hillman (Brian Capron), but it ended in catastrophe when he was revealed to be a serial killer who drove Gail and her family into the canal. Richard didn't survive the incident, and Gail went on to marry Joe McIntyre (Reece Dinsdale) in 2010. However, this marriage was short-lived as Joe attempted to fake his own death for insurance fraud purposes but tragically drowned.

After serving a brief prison sentence for a murder she didn't commit, Gail crossed paths with Michael Rodwell (Les Dennis) when he burgled her house in 2014. The pair eventually got hitched in 2015, but he sadly died of a heart attack just a year later.

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