Coronation Street legend lining up explosive return – eight years after quitting soap he joined as a child
His character is still alive and kicking and has already been asked back once
RYAN Thomas is eyeing up a return to Coronation Street – eight years after he quit the soap.
The 39-year-old, who is famed for playing character Jason Grimshaw, is hoping to have talks with bosses once he finishes his stint on Dancing On Ice.
An insider said: “Ryan is really enjoying his time learning to skate but he’s already thinking about what’s next.
“He’s wants to have meetings with the soap about a possible return.
“Ryan has been telling people that now he’s back living in Manchester full time, he thinks it’s the right time to return.
“His character wasn’t killed off so it would be really easy to write him back in.”Ryan made his debut on the soap when he was just 16 years old, but made the decision to leave shortly before he met his now fiancé Lucy Mecklenburgh.
He moved to Essex to be with her and embarked on a series of reality TV shows, including Celebrity Big Brother.
The couple, who share two children, recently relocated to Manchester, which is where the hit ITV soap is set.
Ryan’s character left for Thailand in 2016 after being tricked by evil Pat Phelan into thinking he was going to get killed if he stayed around Weatherfield.
He was mentioned off screen in 2020 during the pandemic – when viewers were told he was self isolating.
That year it was revealed he was asked back to the soap for the 60th anniversary, but was unable to make it.
He said: “They did ask me back, but I was away at the time. I was away or something was going on.
“I just wasn’t around at the time otherwise I would have been there.”
Despite being unable to return to the show, Ryan admitted the programme still has a special place in his heart, and it is “absolutely amazing” to see how far the soap has come in 60 years.
Speaking to the Daily Star newspaper’s Hot TV column, he added: “The show has a place close to my heart.
“I’m honoured I could be a part of it for so long.
“It has been a massive part of a lot of people’s lives. Even the theme tune!”
