Corrie star ‘confirms’ permanent exit after 22 years as co-star says ‘I miss you’

One Coronation Street icon seems to have “confirmed” her permanent exit from the ITV soap after her character jetted off to Spain.

Kate Ford has played Tracy Barlow since 2002, but this week after 22 years on the cobbles, she left for a new life with her footballer lover Tommy Orpington, after cheating on hubby Steve McDonald. But the character of Tracy has been around a lot longer and played by four different actresses since 1977.

Now it looks like Kate is gone for good as she shared a rainy day selfie to Instagram, showing her wearing a black duffle coat spattered with raindrops as she grinned up at the camera. Wisps of Kate’s brunette tresses escaped her hood and she opted for a low-key make-up look, with a peachy pink pout and a hint of dark liner around her eyes.

A camel-coloured leather bag was slung over one shoulder as Kate finished off her ensemble with tiny silver earrings at her lobes. She simply captioned the post: “Rain, rain, rain,” but it was one of her co-stars who appeared to hint Kate hasn’t been back on set filming.

Sally Carman, who plays Abi Webster on the cobbles, penned: “I miss your face!” with a row of yellow heart emojis. The comment implied Kate hasn’t sneaked back to filming after her character’s exit – and it’s left fans worried she’s gone forever.

One fan penned: “Hope you return soon, Corrie will not be Corrie without you in it, great natural actress.” Someone else echoed: “Hope she hasn’t gone too long!” while a third social media user said: “Will miss you so much and it won’t be the same without you especially with Mary in the flower shop and what a goodbye it was, poor Ken! Wonder if you would come back someday in the future.”

It seems Kate isn’t fully leaving Tracy behind, however, as she shared a cheeky nod to her last storyline on her Instagram Stories, which showed a snap of a Manchester tram bearing the location ‘Orpington’ in reference to her on-screen lover.

Fans were quick to point out a plot hole in her exit plot, as they pointed out Tracy was leaving her small business behind without a thought to who would run it. Taking to X, one fan pointed out: “Tracy is just leaving her florist business? Does Mary own part of it then?”

Another added: “So Tracy seems to have forgotten she owns a florist…” while someone else agreed: “What’s gonna happen with the flower shop then?”

As for those she’s left behind, Steve McDonald star Simon Gregson teased some upcoming storylines of his own, suggesting: “Steve could have a full on mid life crisis, maybe we could see him losing weight, changing his appearance, going to the gym. It could be a lot of fun and also a great excuse for me to make some changes in real life!”