28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Corrie legend fuels soap return rumours as she's seen leaving studio
A former Coronation Street star has been spotted at the Granada Studios in Manchester, where the soap is filmed, amid fan speculation Kym Marsh could be returning
Kym Marsh, the former Coronation Street star, was spotted leaving the show's Manchester studios on Wednesday, sparking rumours of a potential return. The 48 year old actress, dressed casually in a grey hoodie and black leggings, was seen exiting the building with a male friend.
Marsh, who first gained fame as a member of Hear'Say, kept warm in a black padded coat and finished her look with white trainers. She portrayed Michelle Connor on the popular soap from 2006 to 2019, earning the British Soap Award for Best Newcomer for her performance.
However, insiders close to the show have confirmed that Marsh currently has no plans to reprise her role.
Earlier this year, in an interview with The Sun, Marsh hinted at a possible return to the cobbles, stating she would never rule it out. She said: 'I'd never say never to going back as I absolutely adore Coronation Street and I had some of my best years there.
'I learned so much on that show and I made so many friends. But I left to kind of pursue other projects and I'm still in the middle of doing that, but, maybe one day!'
Her character, Michelle, left the show in 2019 after discovering her fiancé, Robert Preston, had fathered a child with Vicky Jefferies. In a twist, she partnered with Vicky to con Robert out of their co-owned Bistro, selling it to an unknown buyer.
However, she was shocked to discover the new owner was Ray Crosby, a disreputable businessman who had previously made unwanted advances towards her. In a fit of rage, Michelle trashed the Bistro before being stopped by Carla Connor.
After tearful farewells to her family, including her sons Ryan and Ali, and issuing a warning about Ray, Michelle departs Weatherfield in a taxi to start anew in Ireland with her parents.
This follows the announcement that the boss of Coronation Street and Emmerdale is leaving after 27 years with ITV. Earlier this month, ITV announced that John Whiston, Managing Director of Continuing Drama and Head of ITV in the North, will retire at the end of the month.
With a career spanning 40 years in television and 27 with the channel, his departure will be felt, having worked on programmes such as The Chase, Vera and Heartbeat, and currently overseeing the soaps.
Iain MacLeod and Matt Cleary are set to step into John's shoes. Sharing the news, John said: 'I've always said I've got the best job in TV. I used to say it privately in case ITV stopped paying me. It has been nothing short of an honour, as well as a blast, to work on the soaps this last decade or so. We've had joy, we've had fun and we've had seasons in the sun. We've also had misery and mayhem. We've had motorway crashes, tram crashes and floods. We've had stories which have squeezed your heart till tears came out of your eyes.'
'And we've covered pretty much anything and everything that people have to face in their own lives and we've done that with care and humanity. And all that is down to the 600 or so people - the writers, crew, cast and editorial – who have kept the show on air and at an incredible quality day in day out. And it's them who have made my job ridiculously easy. Just don't tell ITV.
'With the appointment of Iain MacLeod as Creative Director and Matt Cleary as Chief Operating Officer and with fantastic stories in place for the move to five episodes a week next January, and a never-before-seen mega mash-up between the two shows, the future for our ITV Soaps is set fair.
'So it's the right time to leave and for me just to say thank you... to colleagues, to ITV and to our loyal, appreciative audience.'
Iain, who is currently Executive Producer for Continuing Drama, will be promoted to Creative Director. He will take on all the editorial responsibility for creating the two popular soaps. Meanwhile Director of Production, UK Scripted for ITV Studios Matt's new role will be Chief Operating Officer for Continuing Drama - and will have to make sure that everything day to day runs smoothly.
