Coronation Street boss confirms the returns of five key characters

Bethany is back with a bang! (ITV/REX)

Familiarity is the cornerstone of soaps. With Coronation Street approaching its 65th year(!) on screen, there are hundreds of characters we know and recognise.

No other genre has such history, so it’s always a treat to see actors returning to their roles.

And, in the next two months as the end of the year approaches, there is a whole host of comebacks, with show producer Iain MacLeod confirming no less that five to Metro.co.uk.

In a recent interview, the head honcho shared his excitement at welcoming back a range of characters for some dramatic storylines.

From the previously announced Bethany Platt (Lucy Fallon), to two sinister villains and a couple of more light-hearted returns, there is plenty to look forward to.

Here we round up the quintet of familiar faces – and the trouble they will bring.

Bethany Platt

Bethany is back with a bang! (Picture: ITV)

We’d expect nothing less than big drama for Bethany’s Street comeback – as the Platts rejoice at seeing her again, she soon finds herself in the mid of a chaotic love quadrangle.

Addressing the role she has to play as Daniel Osbourne (Rob Mallard) faces losing Daisy Midgeley (Charlotte Jordan) to Ryan Connor (Ryan Prescott), Iain told us: Bethany’s obviously got lots of history with Daniel, and that very much sharpens Daisy’s focus in terms of how she feels about Daniel.

‘Suddenly this guy that she may have been starting to move away from, possibly by force of will, there’s a romantic threat on the cards and that recalibrates how she feels about the whole enterprise.

‘We were, without duplicating anything, attempting to go for something that had the same level of emotional heft as some of the classic affairs of yore – the Deirdre and Mike stuff, something that’s a love triangle for the ages I suppose.’

And it’s not going to be resolved any time soon as passions heat up and betrayal unfolds.

‘It’s going to run deep into next year as all these unresolved feelings are buried but like all good buried feelings, they all come back to the surface with a bang or two across the following twelve months,’ Iain continued.

So Bethany’s back and we’re all fantastically excited to have her back, she’s incredibly well liked around the building, the viewers love her. She’s a slightly different proposition now from when we last saw her – there’s been a number of years that have elapsed, she’s grown up quite a lot, she’s had the beginnings of a successful journalism career in London and she turns back up and is instantly a foe for Daisy.

‘They’re very evenly matched now – Bethany might once have seemed like a younger woman or a girl; she’s very much more a woman now, more on Daisy’s level, so it’s a really heavyweight tussle between these two women, which I’m really looking forward to seeing more of.

‘She’s coming back with this clear romantic purpose in the Daniel story but then will fairly quickly find herself in the midst of this massive story that’s going to span most of next year.’

Damon Hay

Here comes trouble! (Picture: ITV)

Previously confirmed to Metro.co.uk by Tina O’Brien, Sarah Platt’s world will be rocked by the return of dangerous Damon Hay (Ciaran Griffiths).

However, he will subvert viewer expectations by actually falling deeply for Sarah – so how will that impact his more sinister side? And what does it mean for Adam Barlow (Sam Robertson), who is instantly seething to see him again?

‘Adam finds himself in this nightmarish situation all at the hands of Damon, who’s unexpectedly come back,’ Iain explained. ‘And in our minds, has been somewhere away from Coronation Street plotting his revenge.

‘The story becomes a kind of love triangle where Damon, we also imagine has been spending his intervening months pining for Sarah. I felt there was really intense feeling between those two, but really natural chemistry and connection, and he comes back with a kind of two pronged plan.

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‘The first of them is that he wants to get his revenge on Adam and the second of them is that he wants Sarah back because he feels like she’s the one. And he will essentially have to contend with the fact that these two plans might not be compatible, like can he have his revenge and also have Sarah?

‘So which one is he going to choose? The storyline is packed full of twists and turns and excitement. Dare I say it in this day and age, but it’s quite sexy as well.

‘I should also point out that Sarah’s family are certainly not fans of her new love interest Damon given what they know of his backstory, so there’s lots of really kind of funny, Meet the Parents type stuff, where Sarah brings Damond to a family meal.

‘He has to sit there and try and play nice with Gail, Audrey and David and gives us more of those brilliant Platt family summit kind of scenes that we all love.’

Linda Hancock

Linda is interfering again! (Picture: ITV)

We don’t know about you, but interfering Linda was an instant favourite of ours, in a very camp and cat fight-esque way.

So it was music to our ears to hear that she is coming back for a much longer stint. And she hasn’t changed a bit!

Iain enthused: ‘Joseph’s fairy godmother turns up in the shape of Linda. She decides that she’s going to fix Joseph’s school troubles, and starts throwing money at the situation, which puts Chesney and Gemma in this impossible quandary.

‘It doesn’t feel right that Linda is wading in with her chequebook and saving the day. But on the other side of it, they have to prioritise what’s right for Joseph, who is having a hard time and could do with the support.

‘It’s a lot of fun in places but we were trying to tell a very realistic story about family dynamic. It’s interesting because Gemma is not Joseph’s biological mother so there are tensions around that – does Chesney side with Joseph and Linda and biology? Or does he side more with Gemma? His relationship with Gemma is quite fractured.’

Tommy Orpington

Tommy will have a bigger role to play this time (Picture: ITV)

Fans may remember revered footballer Tommy Orpington, who starstruck residents gushed over.

He’s on his way back to the cobbles in a very different stage of life, and for a longer stay – and it will lead to a surprising romance.

‘He’s now had to return to the trade he had when he was a non-league footballer, which is painter and decorator and, significantly, he is now single. There might be one of our female characters that needs some decorating done, not a euphemism.

‘There’s basically a story that evolves where this attractive, successful historically man arrives into one of our female character’s life and upsets the apple cart in fairly spectacular fashion, shall we say?

‘It’s very funny but potentially quite sad in certain places. It triggers something really big for us over the next 12 months, a big new direction for some characters so yeah, Tommy Orpington will finally be coming off the subs bench.’

Harvey Gaskell

Being behind bars won’t stop Harvey causing chaos (Picture: ITV)

This is a face that many residents dreaded seeing again. As we noted above, Damon will be back to cause big trouble – and Adam will be seeking to get rid of him.

That’s where Will Mellor’s character – and Damon’s brother – steps in.

Iain shared: ‘It’s a brilliant, exciting, high octane story. I love those characters. They always feel sort of really glossy and really naturally at home in this kind of big Coronation Street storyline.

‘As it shakes down, Damon’s revenge may start to take a backseat to his feelings for Sarah. But just in case you thought that that was all going to be smooth running from there or plain sailing from there, Adam then can’t stand the idea that this guy’s back and he’s maybe got designs on Sarah.

‘He decides in his mind that to protect Sarah, he might want rid of Damon. So as Damon’s calming down and Adams’ going into the direction and his plans to rid himself of Damon, we’ll see him pay a little visit to Damon’s half brother Harvey, because he’s no fan of Damon’s either. And they might form this kind of unholy alliance.

‘They have a shared problem in the form of Damon and think they can help each other in that regard. So it’s yeah, it’s got fantastic actors in it as all stories do. The storyline is packed full of twists and turns and excitement.’

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As characters make their comebacks, they’re immediately involved in some big storylines.