Marc Anwar's sacking ruins Coronation Street's Christmas storyline

Yesterday it was reported that Marc Anwar was immediately sacked from ITV soap Coronation Street after he posted a series of racist tweets to his social media page.

The actor, who played Sharif Nazir in the show, branded Indians as “b*stards” and “p*ss-drinking c*nts” in the vile rant, and producers fired him as soon as they were alerted to the posts.

However, it has left show bosses in a bit of a pickle as his character was due to be a big part of this year’s Christmas storyline as his seven-year affair with family friend Sonia has just been exposed.

Speaking about the problems Marc’s departure has caused, a source told The Mirror: “There are going to have to be lots of rewrites. Sharif is ­integral to the plot, even though the focus has shifted to the family reaction.

“The reaction story thread was to play out until December and, as the show works seven weeks ahead, a lot of it has been shot.

“He did have more scenes to shoot – that won’t be happening now and efforts will have to be made to minimise his screen time in episodes that are still at the editing stage.

“It will also be tricky to address his sudden departure – so it’s a lot of extra work for the writers and it comes as they are building up to the important Christmas episodes. It’s bad timing.”

It has also been said that other cast members have been banned from talking about Marc’s behaviour, with an insider adding: “The whole crew have been gagged and put on lock down after the racist tweets scandal.”