ITV has honoured Gail Platt’s legacy after actress Helen Worth has announced she’s bidding farewell to the cobbles after 50 years.
It’s officially the end of an era.
While that phrase gets thrown around quite often these days, this time we genuinely mean it, as after five decades of stellar service on the nation’s favourite TV soap, it’s time to say goodbye to the absolute icon that is Gail Platt.
We already knew that the Coronation Street legend would be celebrating her golden anniversary on the Manchester-based show next month, but now, it’s been announced that this milestone will be a momentous occasion for actress Helen Worth in more ways than one, as her 50th year on the show will also be her last.
Not only will Helen be celebrating 50 years, she’ll also be looking forward to a very different future, as ITV says she’s “made the difficult decision” to step down from her role at the end of the year.
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Helen Worth to Bid Farewell After 50 Years on the Cobbles.
A statement breaking the news released by ITV today reads: “Half a century after she first walked onto the cobbles, viewers will see Helen and Gail bid farewell to Weatherfield in a major storyline for the Platt family. Helen will start filming her exit story next month and the emotional scenes will be on screen at the end of the year.”
Helen said she feels like this year is the “perfect time” to leave the show.
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Helen continued: “After celebrating 50 years in the most wonderful job on the most wonderful street in the world, I made the decision at the start of the year and spoke to the producers who were very kind and understanding. I have been truly blessed to have been given the most incredible scripts week in week out, and to have worked with fantastic actors, directors and a brilliant crew.
“The past 50 years have flown by, and I don’t think the fact that I am leaving has quite sunk in yet.”
ITV pays tribute to Gail Platt’s legacy as actress Helen Worth leaves Coronation Street after 50 years / Credit: ITV
Paying tribute to the character of Gail Platt and her legacy ahead of her final scenes airing later this year, Coronation Street’s Executive Producer, Iain Macleod, said: “The words ‘legend’ and ‘icon’ get used a lot these days, but they genuinely do apply to Gail and to Helen Worth, however given her humility, I know Helen won’t thank me for saying so.
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“In Helen’s hands, Gail has been a huge part of Coronation Street for five decades and at the centre of some of the most memorable storylines.
“Her ill-fated marriage to Richard Hillman was one of the most groundbreaking stories in soap history and cemented Gail’s already established status as one of the Corrie greats. As the matriarch of the Platt clan, her affectionately prickly relationships with her kids, and flighty mum Audrey, epitomise what makes the show great.
“Gail has given us countless hours of entertainment, but it should also be said that Helen herself is a consummate professional and a thoroughly good egg.
“Everyone connected to the show will miss having her around the place just as much as the viewers will miss having her on their screens and we wish her all the very best for the future.”
Featured Image – ITV
TV & Showbiz
Elbow get behind campaign to save Jodrell Bank from closure
Danny Jones
Manc band Elbow are among the latest to get behind the campaign to save Jodrell Bank Observatory from closing permanently.
The Greater Manchester natives famously played a sold-out gig at the important scientific and cultural landmark for a very special live album recording well over a decade ago, and know all too well the site’s national and, indeed, global heritage.
Choosing the Observatory and the rare chance to perform a show in the shadow of the world-renowned James Lovell Telescope, it probably remains one of their most significant standalone UK date ever.
With that in mind, the local lads have been left just as worried by the news of its impending closure as everyone else, and have therefore issued a fresh appeal to help keep it open.
Posting a timely statement on social media, the group wrote: “Jodrell Bank has long been close to elbow’s heart. In 2012, the band played beneath the Lovell Telescope for one of the most memorable shows in our history.
“The recent news that funding for the e-MERLIN radio telescope network is set to end in 2028 puts the future of the scientific work at Jodrell Bank under serious threat. It is a remarkable place, with an extraordinary history, and one that continues to play an important role in science, culture and education.”
In addition to reliving clips and images from the historic live set all the years later, they also pointed people towards their ‘elbow – Live at Jodrell Bank‘ album documentary, which has now been made available online for the very first time as part of wider efforts to raise awareness around the cause.
Directing people to key online resources shared by the institution and astrophysics centre itself following their unfortunate update late last month, the push to not only find the funding but sustain support for the facility continues to ramp up throughout the world of science, arts and industry.
For anyone who somehow missed the news – 2028 being the current deadline handed down as per budget cuts across the sector – concerned parties here in the North West and all over the country have since started petitioning to save Jodrell Bank Observatory from shutting down for good.
In addition to being described as a “huge blow” to the field by the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), some have even gone so far as to describe the decision as a form of “vandalism” when it comes to research and British culture as a whole.
Having also served as the host venue for the annual bluedot Festival since 2016, the multi-genre science and arts celebration could soon be forced to find a new home.
The battle is far from over yet, and the community has time to rescue Jodrell Bank Observatory from its fate, but it will take lots of money and more notable public figures to make it happen.
Once again, you can do your bit by signing the petition mentioned above right HERE.
Featured Images — Emma Farrer (via Wikimedia Commons)/The Manc Group
TV & Showbiz
New BBC series based on bestselling book to film in Manchester with big-name actors
Emily Sergeant
A new BBC series based on a bestselling book is set to begin filming in Manchester.
The new series, titled You Are Here, is described as being an ‘honest, witty, and tender’ love story based on David Nicholls’ critically acclaimed novel of the same name – with the author having also written the eight-part adaptation set to be directed Lenny Abrahamson, who is best known for BBC‘s cult-classic miniseries Normal People, and the Oscar-nominated Room (2015).
Set along the Coast to Coast walking trail from the Lake District to Robin Hood’s Bay in North Yorkshire, You Are Here tells the story of Marnie and Michael.
When a mutual friend throws them together, Marnie and Michael unexpectedly find themselves setting off on an epic walk.
Against the odds, they end up on the brink of a relationship that neither was looking for, but might be exactly what they both need.
Treading the tricky path from loneliness to love, Marnie and Michael go coast-to-coast across the stunning English countryside, navigating an undeniable attraction along the way that is just as exhilarating as it is terrifying.
📚 Claire Foy and Matthew Macfadyen lead the cast of You Are Here, adapted from David Nicholls' best-selling novel
Producers say the series is about finding a connection when you least expect it and overcoming the obstacles of midlife.
Set to be filmed across Manchester and the Lake District, it has been announced that respected actors Claire Foy and Matthew Macfadyen will take on the lead roles of Marnie and Michael.
“I’m so delighted to be working on You Are Here with Element, the BBC, Starz, and Lenny, whose work I’ve admired for many years,” commented David Nicholls.
“And Matthew and Claire are both just dream casting, wonderful in comedy and drama, so detailed and thoughtful and sympathetic.
“The intention with the novel was to write a close-up study of a relationship, but set against this magnificent landscape, and that’s our ambition here too – to make something both intimate and epic, funny and dramatic, a romantic comedy with real emotion.
“We can’t wait to bring Marnie and Michael’s journey to the screen.”
Featured Image – Juankr and Josh Wool (via BBC Press Office)
Emily Sergeant -
5th June 2024 
