Sean Wilson has made a shock behind-the-scenes departure from Coronation Street, just weeks after his return as Martin Platt was announced by the soap.
The character - a regular on the cobbles between 1985 and 2005 - was confirmed to be reprising his role for a brief stint at the end of this year to tie in with the departure of ex-wife Gail following actress Helen Worth's decision to leave the show after 50 years.
The storyline would have given the notoriously unlucky-in-marriage Gail a happy ending and see her depart for a new life with Martin, who is the only surviving one of her many husbands.
Wilson is thought to have started filming his return scenes last month ahead of an October on-screen return but just weeks after his comeback he has dramatically left the soap and the entire storyline will now be rewritten, with his already-filmed scenes to be scrapped.
A source told The Sun: "It has come as a complete and utter shock to everyone - and his sudden exit has rocked everyone involved with Corrie. Sean was loving his time on the show, and he was very popular on set.
"He had filmed scenes with loads of the cast, but then suddenly he was summoned to head office, and later it filtered out he wouldn't be returning or his scenes airing, but no explanation offered.
"Clearly it's a major blow for bosses who must now find a new magical and happy ending for Helen - but they are confident they'll pull it out of the bag, and give viewers something wonderful."
A Corrie spokesperson confirmed: "Sean Wilson has stepped down from filming for personal reasons."
Meanwhile, Wilson's agent said: "Neither he nor I will be making any further comment or statement."
Wilson originally left the show in 2005 under somewhat of a cloud as he quit over objections to a storyline involving Martin getting into a relationship with an underage girl and he vowed never to return, although he did make a very brief comeback in 2018 as part of the male rape plot involving Martin's son David (Jack P Shepherd).
Earlier this year, before his return was announced, the actor spoke disparagingly about the show, describing it as "very much issue-centric" and claimed that producers were "trying to solve the world's issues".
Neil Wilkes
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