Calum Lill has bid a tearful farewell to Coronation Street in an emotional video comparing his time on the show Harry Potter ‘getting his letter to Hogwarts’.
The actor bowed out from his role as the evil Joe Deering in a special episode on Friday, in which Joel’s killer was revealed in a series of flashbacks from the night of his murder.
Fans of the ITV soap saw how Lauren Bolton (Cait Fitton) killed her abuser in a shock twist.
She fatally hit him over the head as Joel tried to strangle Max Turner (Paddy Bever) on a bridge, before the pair worked together to dump his body in the canal below.
After Calum’s final episode aired, Coronation Street’s social accounts posted a farewell message from the actor, who broke down in tears as he discussed his time on the show.
He said: ‘I’ve just had the best time here with everyone. I just feel so grateful to have been trusted with a huge story and such a serious story.
‘We worked with the Maggie Oliver Foundation since the beginning to make sure we portrayed something that was truthful and could potentially be helpful to anyone who is experiencing something similar. So thank you to the Maggie Oliver Foundation and thank you to everyone here for trusting me with it.
‘For me when I found out I had this part, it was like Harry Potter getting his letter to Hogwarts,’ he continued as his voice started to crack.
‘It’s the most magical place and I just want to say thank you to the friends I’ve made.
‘The people here are so special. And in every department, they’re just so great and I’m going to miss them terribly. But I’m so happy that I got to experience it. So thank you. And I can’t wait to watch you all on screen from home and watch your careers.
‘It’s been amazing. So thank you.’
Channique Sterling-Brown, who plays Joel’s ex-fiancée Dee-Dee Bailey also posted a tribute to Calum on Instagram after his final episode.
Asked by a fan if she missed working with Calum during an Instagram Q&A, she shared a series of pictures of them together on her Stories, writing: ‘I do, the best way I can describe our relationship is a sibling rivalry as we’re both competitive and can’t go 5mins without bickering or annoying each other. But it’s all love.
‘Here’s us sobbing outside the Rovers after our last scene together lol.’
