Coronation Street bosses have reportedly replaced sacked Sean Wilson with former star John Thomson in a ‘panicked rewrite’.
The actor, 59, was set to reprise his role as Martin Platt in October as part of his ex-wife Gail’s happy farewell, with actress Helen Worth, 73, preparing for retirement. Now, John’s character, Jesse Chadwick, will be the one to woo him.
John appeared on the block between 2008 and 2010 as the hapless children’s entertainer. During this time he was in a relationship with Gail’s rival Eileen Grimshaw (Sue Cleaver), suggesting the new storyline could involve a rematch between the two women.
A source said The sun: ‘The past few weeks have been absolutely hectic and incredibly stressful for Corrie’s bosses and scriptwriters.
‘So many new departure storylines were floated for Gail, but they were focused on a love interest – which proved difficult when she buried five of her six ex-husbands. And the remaining living one, Martin, was clearly killed off in real life.
Coronation Street bosses have reportedly replaced sacked Sean Wilson (pictured) with former star John Thomson in a ‘frantic rewrite’
The actor was set to reprise his role as Martin Platt in October as part of his ex-wife Gail’s happy departure, as actress Helen Worth, 73, prepares to retire, but now John’s character Jesse Chadwick (pictured) will be the one doing the courting
John appeared on the cobbles as the hapless children’s entertainer between 2008 and 2010 (Sean is pictured in the show with co-star Helen Worth)
‘They wanted a recognisable name and chose John because his character was popular with viewers and was a real throwback to the past.’
MailOnline has contacted John’s representatives and ITV for comment.
It comes after John said he would never return to the cobbles, saying: ‘I don’t want to be known as Jesse Chadwick, children’s entertainer for the rest of my life’
Narrate Metro in 2012: ‘I’ve been lucky. I’ve had a varied career and I like to jump in and out of things. I was in for ten months and felt like I’d done my time.’
This comes after Sean was reportedly dropped from the show two weeks before the news broke. Lawyers were involved, adding to the mystery surrounding the cobblestones.
He reportedly left the show abruptly after being “summoned to HQ” and subsequently resigned due to “personal reasons”, forcing Gail’s entire exit storyline to be hastily rewritten.
Sean had returned to Corrie in July to film his first scenes and had already recorded episodes with a host of the soap’s stars.
After The SAn He first reported the news on Friday, but a source has now revealed he secretly left weeks ago, leaving the cast and crew shocked and bosses forbidden from discussing the matter.
Jesse was in a relationship with Gail’s rival Eileen Grimshaw (Sue Cleaver, pictured), suggesting the new storyline could involve a rematch between the two women
It comes after John said he would never return to the cobbles, saying: ‘I don’t want to be known as Jesse Chadwick, children’s entertainer for the rest of my life’
Earlier this year, Sean said that soap operas are now “issue-driven” and that they try to solve world problems but fail. Compared to when he was on the show, between 1985 and 2005, viewers were watching the show in droves and were “both laughing and crying.”
Narrate The daily star: ‘I think the soap world is a different vehicle these days. I think I was part of the British soap industry at its best, the halcyon years when there were 18 or 21 million people watching’
‘You could walk down the street on a Wednesday or Friday and you could hear people laughing with their windows open because of the great writing and the great acting that really spoke to the nation. I don’t think it does that as much these days.’
He continued, “People don’t have to watch it anymore. They were all on a Segway; you were five minutes away from laughing and five minutes away from crying. Now it seems very issue-centric, they’re trying to solve the world’s problems, which they’re not going to do.”
As reported by The SunSean was called into a meeting with the bosses, but received ‘no explanation’ from his fellow players.
An ITV spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘Sean Wilson has stepped down from filming for personal reasons.’
Sean’s agent told the publication: “Neither he nor I will be making any further comment or statement.”
Sean played Martin for 20 years before he and his family emigrated to New Zealand in 2018. He made one last visit to Weatherfield before leaving to make peace with David, who was angry that his father was leaving the country.
After the news first broke on Friday, a source has revealed he secretly left weeks ago, leaving the cast and crew shocked and bosses banned from discussing the matter (pictured with co-star Helen Worth and Tina O’Brien)
As reported by The Sun, Sean was called into a meeting with bosses and left without ‘any explanation’ to his fellow cast members
Although the couple’s decade-long union ended when Sean’s character Martin had an affair, it is considered the most successful relationship of Gail’s five previous marriages.
In July it was confirmed that Sean would reprise his role as Martin, as part of Gail’s farewell after 50 years on the cobbles.
As Sean picked up his first scripts for filming, he said: ‘It was great to be invited back to Coronation Street and to contribute to Helen’s exit story.’
He added: ‘We have a few months to talk to Martin and Gail again and follow the ups and downs of the story.
‘It’s been a pleasure playing Martin from day one and in a way I’m now picking up where I left off, which will undoubtedly throw a spanner in the works for the Platt family.
“It’s like pulling an old, comfy sweater out of the closet… I can’t wait to be reunited with my TV family.”
However, this week a spokesperson for the soap said the actor was leaving for “personal reasons” and that no scenes featuring Sean will air. Gail’s entire exit story is now being hastily rewritten by bosses.