Coronation Street: who's leaving, who's joining and who's returning to the cast?

Shayne Ward - Aidan Connor

Former X Factor winner Ward will be on screen until spring when factory boss Aidan exits in a dramatic storyline that is currently being kept under wraps.

Catherine Tyldesley - Eva Price

Eva Price's last scenes will be shown in the summer, with the door being kept open should Catherine Tyldesley decide to one day make a return. Said the star:

“Coronation Street has been a dream job for me which is why this was such a difficult decision to leave.

“Eva has been such fun to play over the last seven years, and who knows, one day she might storm the cobbles of Weatherfield again."

Helen Flanagan (temporary leave) - Rosie Webster

The actress recently announced that she was expecting her second child with boyfriend Scott Sinclair, so will be taking maternity leave.

RETURNING

Sean Wilson - Martin Platt

He was last seen in Corrie in 2005, but Sean Wilson is to reprise the role of Martin Platt for a number of episodes in March in the aftermath of Martin’s son David being drugged and raped by new Weatherfield mechanic Josh (for more on Josh, see the 'Joining' category below).

Richard Crehan - Lee Mayhew

Billy's heroin-addicted brother Lee (last seen in June 2016) is making a comeback, with actor Daniel Brocklebank recently seen filming in a church graveyard with co-star Richard Crehan.

Tisha Merry - Steph Britton

Steph Britton will return from Portugal in next week’s Coronation Street in order to attend Luke’s funeral. And Corrie fans can expect high drama when a grieving Steph spots a supercilious Pat Phelan at the service.
After noticing that Phelan is in attendance, Steph grows increasingly furious and ends up branding the Weatherfield psychopath an evil liar, accusing him of blackmailing Andy into burning down the garage.

JOINING

Ryan Clayton - Josh

Coronation Street’s male rape storyline will begin this week with the arrival of new mechanic Josh (Ryan Clayton).

Scenes to be shown on Friday will see the handsome newcomer arrive in Weatherfield and begin work alongside Tyrone and Kevin. But Josh will soon feature in a much darker plotline involving David Platt that will unfold as 2018 progresses.

As was reported back in December, Josh is to drug and rape Corrie favourite David Platt following a night out.

The ITV soap has yet to confirm the storyline, however a source told The Mirror: “There won’t be any sexually explicit scenes, what has happened to David will be implied by his reaction and behaviour when he wakes up the next day and starts to remember some of what happened.

“With Josh still on the street, David struggles to deal with the shame of what has happened to him. This is a big storyline for Jack and everyone is determined to get it right.”

Sophie Thompson - Rosemary

Detectorists star Sophie Thompson has been cast as quirky medium Rosemary, who meets Audrey when she visits her salon and convinces her she has been contacted by her late husband Alf.

Gail is dismissive of Rosemary and her ‘gift’ and warns Audrey to be careful, but it isn’t long before Rosemary says she is getting messages from Gail’s dead husbands, including killer Richard Hillman...

You can watch a 60-second rundown of next week's drama on Coronation Street below

And visit our dedicated Coronation Street page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers.