The past few weeks have painted a worrying picture for the future of Coronation Street, after confirmation of a number of big exits and rumours of a soap facing the axe.
With popular cast members written out of the ITV soap and others calling it a day, including legends Helen Worth and Sue Cleaver, who play Gail Platt and Eileen Grimshaw respectively, there's been concern over where the soap is headed. This hasn't been helped by brutal reports of a show in trouble, said to be "dying a death" with claims it could disappear from screens completely in a matter of years.
But fear not soap fans, as Corrie viewers old and new have absolutely nothing to worry about. Cast departures, those decided by themselves and those forced by bosses, are typical in the soap world, and are not exactly something new.
Of course it's sad to wave goodbye to some iconic and long-serving characters, with Daisy Midgeley and Yasmeen Nazir joining Eileen as some of those bidding goodbye for good, amid the recent departures of Mason Radcliffe and icon Gail. There have been some decisions for characters including Craig Tinker and Debbie Webster to be written out of the ITV soap, while Evelyn Plummer star Maureen Lipman announced a while back she would be reducing her time onscreen with a part-time role.
But asides the number of exits, there's so much still to come on the Cobbles with soap boss Kate Brooks recently telling The Mirror huge scenes planned for 2025 and beyond. Debbie's own storyline, a dementia diagnosis, is set to run into 2026 at least, while there's also new twists, new characters, returning faces and huge plots keeping the show very much alive.
A soap insider had told The Mirror that while there's big changes on the way for the show, "Corrie is in no way on the brink of collapse" with some of their biggest plots still to come. They shared: "Corrie's vision for the future on the show has secured its place on screens for years to come.
"Fans can ignore any idea that within a decade the soap will be gone, because it's in no way on the brink of collapse. There's some really exciting twists ahead for our favourite characters and couples, with a massive stunt that will no doubt bring the drama, as well as some hard-hitting storylines bringing some of soap's biggest characters to the forefront.
"It really is a case of one door closes and another opens in that some familiar faces will be leaving, but others will be back - and the new faces could be just what the show needs. There's so much ahead so the idea the end of Corrie is in sight is bonkers."
Mirror's soap insider isn't the only one sharing the truth about what's really going on at Corrie, downplaying suggestion of a soap in crisis. A spokesperson for the show told The Mirror all about recent suggestions of falling ratings, hitting back at this with a very valid point.
After the focus appeared to be on an episode that aired on a Thursday night, not Corrie's usual air date or even time slot, airing at the later time of 9PM, a spokesperson revealed Corrie's ratings were much better than implied.
The Coronation Street spokesperson told The Mirror: "It is misleading to use figures that focus on an episode which aired on Thursday night at 9pm, a day and time which is not our usual transmission pattern. It also does not take into account the viewers who have watched or will watch the episode on ITVX.
"Monday night's highly acclaimed knife crime episode peaked at 3.9 million viewers which, when consolidated, will be in keeping with the show's 2024 average of 4.4 million, making it the most watched soap on TV." That's not all, as a Coronation Street insider also had their say on the recent exit announcements, sharing some intel that may make viewers rethink the stance that there's a sudden mass exodus on the Cobbles.
This actually couldn't be further from the truth, with many of the departures being planned months ago, if not a year ago. Despite fans fearing there will be constant exits in the coming days or weeks due to the regular reports of another person leaving, most of this is common knowledge with the cast already as it's been set in stone for a while.
A Corrie insider told us: "These departure decisions have been made across the last 12 months not in the past few weeks, be they a choice by an actor or storyline related, which is not at all unusual. The soap does not announce them that far in advance as it undermines the storytelling if people know too soon that a character will be going.
"It is just the information has been leaked in quick succession which has led to a completely false narrative. The names that have been written about also include Sue Devaney for example, who will be on screen well past 2025. Luca Toolan knew of his character's fate in February 2024. Others advised us as long ago as early 2024 of their decision to leave."
The insider confirmed that the exits have long been planned and it was a deliberate decision not to announce them as to avoid ruining storylines and twists for fans. With them since reported elsewhere, they've clarified the exits are happening, but it's not as dramatic as it's been made out.
These aren't sudden and abrupt decisions by cast or bosses for characters to go, with a bigger plan in motion and storylines planned for the months and years ahead. So fans need not worry about losing their favourite soap anytime soon, as Corrie for sure, exits or not, is here to stay.
Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and ITV X.* Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .