Coronation Street character makes exit after 21 years as Leanne left heartbroken

Coronation Street fans are in for another explosive week after one character leaves the soap after 21 years on the ITV cobbles.

Over the past few months, fans have watched Simon Barlow (played by Alex Bain) struggling with alcoholism ever since his father Peter Barlow (Chris Gascoyne) left the street on New Year’s Eve. Since then, the doting son was fired from his job at Underworld and forced to work with his mum Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson) at the Bistro.

But things took a turn for the worse when he got involved in a devastating car crash with his stepbrother Sam Blakeman (Jude Riordan) after getting behind the wheel drunk. Thankfully, Sam survived the crash with a few cuts and bruises, but it certainly caused a wedge between Leanne and Nick Tilsley (Ben Price).

Ultimately, the pair decided to report Simon’s accident to the police and the hunk was slapped with a community service order. So when his father reached out with an offer to come and work with him on the yacht, he jumped at the opportunity.

But in upcoming scenes, fans will learn that Leanne was kept in the dark about her son’s new job offer while she was away on a retreat with The Institute. When the blonde bombshell returns home, she explains to Nick that her workshop overran and was forced to stay an extra night before coming home.

It’s fair to say the doting mum is furious when Simon reveals that he’s leaving to join Peter on the yacht. Enraged that nobody bothered to consult her about this big decision, Nick reassures her he left a message with her about it earlier in the week.

Devastated that her leader failed to pass on the important memo, Leanne flies off the handle and accuses Nick of conspiring with Toyah behind her back. As Simon clears out the last of his things from the Bistro, Leanne pulls him in for a big hug.

As her son hops into the taxi, Leanne and Nick wave Simon off from outside the restaurant before she storms inside. Feeling desperate to talk about her son’s goodbye, Leanne rushes to her laptop as someone from The Institute consoles her.

She tells them how now that Simon has gone, she’s all alone and wishes for nothing more than to be with them again. Viewers will have to stay tuned to see if his doting mum will follow in his footsteps and leave the cobbles for good.

It comes after the 22-year-old actor confirmed he was leaving the soap back in March after 11 years on the ITV show. He was just seven years old when he landed the part of Simon Barlow.

The character was played by Daniel Whelan as a baby in 2003, as well as Jake and Oscar Hartley. Simon was then off-screen until 2008, when Alex Bain picked up the role.

The soap hunk confirmed the news as he opened up about his exit in an emotional post alongside a snap taken from his dressing room. He wrote: “Well my day is done! Nice and short day today! I’m gonna miss this little space so dearly when I go!”

He added: “So glad I’ve got some shooting days left! So thankful!” The dad-of-one opened up about what it was like working with Chris, 56, online.

Replying to fans online, he wrote: “@chrisgascoyneofficial is one of the most amazing and complete actors I’ve had the pleasure of working with on Corrie! He is one of the utterly incredible people I had the joy to learn and hone the craft of acting with, and I will always be grateful for all he has done.”