I was on Coronation Street - here's why I'd NEVER return to soap

Coronation Street star Steven Arnold - best known for playing Ashley Butcher - has said that he will never return to the show, even if he's begged by posses. 

The actor, now 51, made the revelation following the recent trend in British soaps to bring back characters after long absences - sometimes even from the dead. 

Steven played butcher Ashley on Corrie from 1995 to 2010 before being brutally killed in the show's 50th anniversary special in the tram crash.

He was at the heart of several major storylines, including his relationship with Maxine Heavy (Tracy Shaw), who was murdered by serial killer Richard Hillman in 2003. 

Insisting he's not interested in being resurrected, the actor told The Express: 'I wouldn't return.

'Ashley was crushed by this falling beam and it was hanging on chains. We filmed the episode and I went off and had my leaving party.' 

Ashley said that while he would never return to the soap, the influence it's had on him as an actor can't be overstated - and one of its stars still stands out in his mind.

Reflecting on John Savident (Fred Ellliot), who sadly passed away in 2024, Steven, who has gone on to act in Shakespearian productions, said that John showed him the ropes of acting on set. 

The Corrie star said: 'He'll always have a special place in my heart as I played him for such a long time. There's elements that you miss but you can still put him in characters that you play here and there.' 

'Working with John Savident, who played my dad, Fred Elliot. He had such a wealth of experience. 

'Even now, when I go into colleges to teach acting, I can hear his words coming through my mouth.

'He taught me how to act on set, how to give passion to a character. I miss him so much. 

'He was like a father to me. I can't even begin to explain how much that man taught me. There was not a specific day or moment that stands out to me.'

Steven's comments about his stint on the long-running soap come after Helen Worth (AKA Gail Platt) recently spoke out on why she really left Coronation Street - a year and a half after the high-profile exit.

The actress, 75, played Gail for 50 years, making her one of the soap's longest-running stars, and has now revealed what led her to say goodbye.

As part of her storylines, Gail was married six times, including to Brian Tilsley (Christopher Quinten), who was tragically stabbed to death, and Martin Platt (Sean Wilson), another one of the soap's long-serving characters. 

Helen's character had been at the centre of an array of explosive storylines, including her daughter Sarah's teenage pregnancy, and the death of her fourth debt-ridden husband Joe McIntyre (Reece Dinsdale) during a failed life insurance scheme.

One of Gail's most iconic moments came in a 2003 episode when she found out her husband Richard Hillman (Brian Capron) was a serial killer.

Helen has spoken out about how filming felt increasingly tough and tiring, particularly in the year before she left, cementing her decision to step away. 

She told The Sun: 'It was only a bit towards the end when I got a bit tired. But the first, how many years? 49 years, were a dream.'

Helen added: 'My final husband, John Thomson, was absolutely gorgeous to me, because by then I was rattling a bit. It was around about 4,000 episodes and I was rattling a little bit.'

Revealing that she would't ever return to the soap full-time, Helen said: 'I had good and bad days… but then you forget the bad days and you just remember the good days.'

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Helen shared a heartwarming goodbye message after her dramatic exit from the street on Christmas Day 2024.

The soap star took to X with a video, thanking fans for following along throughout her time on the ITV show.

Helen's final scenes were shown that Christmas in an emotional moment that saw her start 'day one of her new life' with husband Jesse Chadwick (John Thompson) abroad.

Following the emotional episode, Helen thanked fans on X and promised more Platt family storylines to come. 

She said: 'Thanks for coming on the journey with me. I've had a wonderful time.

'I've loved it, all the stories and of course it's been wonderful working with the wonderful Platts, which for me is what it's all about - and there'll be more Platt stories and I hope you'll be watching.' 

Coronation Street airs on ITV1 and is available to stream on ITVX.