Coronation Street cast 'left furious over budget cuts as they suffer another blow' after stars axed and episodes slashed

Daily Mail​

7 hours ago

The Coronation Street cast have reportedly been 'left furious over budget cuts as they suffered yet another blow,' on Thursday.
The ITV soap is set to have its episode count slashed by bosses after already seeing a number of stars axed from the programme.
Now, the cuts have put another 'dampener' on the cast with their annual summer party said to have been cancelled.
A source told The Sun that the stars have organised and will be paying for their own get together this year instead.
They explained: 'It's been a difficult few months and people were really looking forward to the party, but it puts a bit of a dampener on things that they have to pay.
'It might not be a lot to some of the bigger known stars but for some staff it is. The fact that drinks aren't included is a real blow too.'
The source added: 'People aren't really that surprised though considering the constant budget cuts.'
MailOnline has contacted ITV for comment.
Coronation Street star Rob Mallard previously revealed the cast's reaction to the soap's recent cuts.
Soaring production costs and a collapse in advertising revenue are said to have put the future of the long-running soap in jeopardy and sparked a number of budget cuts.
Speaking to MailOnline on the red carpet at the Soap Awards, Rob, who plays Daniel Osbourne, shared the cast's reaction to the changes.
He said: 'People who have been in the show for a long time said they thought it was going to be better, because they seem to remember it being like that at some point in the past, and I think in terms of the way we structure our episode.
'We won't have to have so many artificial cliffhangers, because there's no coming back for part two. It's all there in one, so it's going to make the storytelling a lot clearer.'
After Lucy Fallon exited the soap earlier this year to give birth to her second child, Rob shared when fans can expect to see Bethany Platt back on screens.
He added: 'She's coming back, she's gone off to have her baby, from what I understand she was coming back pretty much as soon as she was able to.'
From January 2026, Corrie will reduce to six weekly episodes to just five, airing alongside Emmerdale in a 'new soaps power hour.'
It's been reported the ITV soap is in trouble due to an alleged cash crisis and a revolt from the cast over poor working conditions and low salaries.
In January, an insider claimed some of the show's well known actors could see their scenes in the Rovers Return cut to save cash.
As more well-established stars are paid more per episode, the show is said to be relying more on its newer characters as those actors are paid less.
Salaries on the cobbles vary significantly with established stars like Bill Roache said to earn £2,000 per episode while newbies usually get £400 per appearance
Gail Platt - played by Helen Worth for 50 years - appeared in just 26 out of 304 episodes in her final year on the soap, while Bill only played Ken for 48 episodes.
While some of the show's mid-ranking and younger actors are been said to be worried they'll be written off the show in order to keep the more established stars.
Last year, the show's new boss warned the multiple characters will face the boot as she opened up about several 'unexpected exits' in 2025.
Other actors have reportedly vented their fury on a WhatsApp group over fears they could be next.
A source said: 'There's a WhatsApp group which has been pinging with messages about concerns of where the axe will fall next.'
'It's a tough time on the soap and it's filtering down. There is a feeling more people will be cut to save money and to keep the best-paid stars like Bill Roache and Jack P Shepherd on board.'