A goodbye! (Pictures: ITV./Instagram/Vanessa Hehir)
Coronation Street star Vanessa Hehir has confirmed the end of her storyline as Esther Hargrave.
Making her arrival last October, Esther and partner Mike (Tom Lorcan) appeared in Weatherfield as Billy’s (Daniel Brocklebank) friends from the church.
As the characters got settled in, Summer slowly stepped into their lives and learnt that the couple wanted a baby together, but would need a surrogate to carry their child.
During this period, Summer was also trying to help boyfriend Aaron (James Craven) and his alcoholic father, who needed money to attend rehab.
Summer then told Mike and Esther that she would carry their child, in return for cash to pay for Eric’s recovery.
However, that’s when things started getting complicated.
Sadly, Summer suffered a miscarriage but instead of telling Esther and Mike straight away, she lied, allowing them to believe for weeks that they’d soon be welcoming their first child into the world.
As the storyline began to reach a climax, Summer ended up confessing the truth, discovering that Mike is already the father to a young boy after an affair, getting locked in the nursery by the desperate dad – and ended up in hospital again after being unable to take her diabetes medication.
*And breathe*.
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The plot came to a close last week, when everything Summer had recently been through made her realise that she did want to enrol at Oxford university after all.
This now means we have said goodbye to Esther and Mike and to mark the departure, Vanessa posted a sweet picture on her Instagram.
Vanessa, Mike, Harriet and Aaron are seen in front of a Coronation Street sign smiling, with the actress writing alongside:
‘And just like that the Corrie adventure is over. I’ve truly had the most fun working with the best people and have made friends for life. It was worth the 30 years of auditioning since I was 11 to end up working with these phenomenal peeps.
‘What a crazy ride it’s been. Love you guys, @harrietanneb @james.t.craven and @tomlorcan who Is definitely in my top 5 of TV husbands ( Yey! High 5!).’
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It’s goodbye to Mike and Esther.
