Coronation Street's Ellie Leach: Faye's exit scene was 'so, so emotional'

Faye Windass said goodbye to the Coronation Street cobbles tonight after 12 years. Now, as she bows out, actor Ellie Leach dissects that emotional final scene for us.

After saying farewell to daughter Miley (Frankie-Jae Simmonds) and Miley’s father Jackson Hodge (Joseph Evans), Faye put on a brave face for fiancé Craig Tinker (Colson Smith).

But, after his shocking attempt at blackmail, Craig ultimately gave Faye his blessing to walk away. Packing her belongings, she set off almost immediately for her happy ever after.

Summing up Faye’s last moments on-screen, Leach says: “The saddest part of the scene is, we’re in the taxi, we’re on our way, and then we just see Craig on his own walking up the Street.

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"And then Faye’s like ‘stop the car’. She gets out and she’s like: ‘I’ll always love you, I always have and I always will.’”

The actor adds that there was so much meaning behind Faye and Craig’s special goodbye. “It was just so, so emotional, and I think you do see that there’s two people here who do love each other, but there’s so many other factors. Love isn’t always enough, and I think you can definitely see that in that last scene.”

Asked who she will miss the most from Coronation Street, Leach counts many of the cast as close friends. “I think just the people - I know that everyone says we all get along so well and we’re all like a big family, but we genuinely are.

“So I think definitely Sally Dynevor, [who plays Faye's stepmum, Sally Metcalfe] but she’s like my mum. She’s always been my mum; she’s always looked after me and I’ve loved being able to work with her. Also, Ryan Russell who plays Michael, [I] love Ryan; and Channique [Sterling-Brown] as well which, I know she’s not been here for very long, but I’ve loved being with.

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“Honestly, Sally Ann Matthews, Charlie Jordan; literally everyone, you could name so many people. I just love everyone, and I’m very, very privileged to be able to call these people my friends and say that I’ve worked with them for so many years.”

In honour of playing Faye for all these years, has the star kept anything to remember her by? “Yes. I took quite a few of her clothes - which to be fair, I’ve always said she’s not really got very good style, Faye; but she’s got the odd little piece. She’s got an odd little, like, jacket or pair of jeans or pair of trainers. I did take a pair of Faye’s pyjamas, actually, which I’ve not had off. I think it’s always nice to kind of keep a little bit of her with me.

“I also did keep - because I have a little memory box at home, not just for work, for life - I’ve got a sparkly green fingernail from when she dropped her stick-on nail down Ted’s sink. So I’ve kept a stick-on nail which is sparkly green, and that’ll remind me that I ran over an old man.”

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