Helen Worth shared a heartwarming goodbye message after her dramatic exit from Coronation Street on Christmas Day.
The soap star, 73, took to X to send a video to fans thanking them for following her throughout her time on the ITV show.
Helen played Gail Platt for half a century and during her time on the show she has been married five times, including Brian Tilsey (Christopher Quinten), who was tragically stabbed to death, and Martin Platt (Sean Wilson), one of the soap’s long-serving characters.
Helen has been at the centre of an array of explosive storylines, including her daughter Sarah’s teenage pregnancy, and the death of her fourth debt-ridden husband Joe McIntyre (Reece Dinsdale) during a failed life insurance scheme.
One of Gail’s most iconic moments came in a 2003 episode when she found out her husband Richard Hillman (Brian Capron) was a serial killer.
But Helen’s final scenes were shown on Wednesday in an emotional moment that saw her start ‘day one of her new life’ with husband Jesse Chadwick (John Thompson) abroad.
Helen Worth, 73, shared a heartwarming goodbye message after her dramatic exit from Coronation Street on Christmas Day
Helen played Gail Platt for half a century and during her time on the show she has been married five times but she finally walked down the aisle with Jesse (pictured)
And following the emotional episode, Helen took to X to thank fans and promised more Platt family storylines to come
And following the emotional episode, Helen took to X to thank fans and promised more Platt family storylines to come.
Dressed in a smart blue blazer over a bright red turtle neck and sat in her iconic living room, Helen said it had been a pleasure to work on the soap and be part of the Platt family for so long.
She said: ‘Hello all of you. It’s wonderful to have this opportunity to say ta ta.
‘It’s been a fabulous 50 years and I just wanted to thank all of you some of you who may have been watching for 50 – is there anybody?
‘And those of you who have been watching for a few years thank you.
‘Thanks for coming on the journey with me. I’ve had a wonderful time.
‘I’ve loved it, all the stories and of course it’s been wonderful working with the wonderful Platts which for me is what it’s all about and there’ll be more Platt stories and I hope you’ll be watching.
‘Lots of love and thanks from me.’
Helen’s final episode was as action-packed as her 50 years on the soap had been and the Christmas day storyline saw an engagement, a pregnancy, an arrest, multiple fights and a lot tears.
With the episode setting the scene for an emotional Christmas episode, Gail was sinisterly serenaded by the ghost of her old murderous partner, Richard Hillman (Brian Capron).
The legendary actress Helen Worth has officially bid farewell to the cobbles of Weatherfield after playing the role of Gail for 50 years
Gail looked loved up as she gave her husband a kiss at their wedding ceremony
Being haunted by the notorious villain, which ended in an argument about her past, Gail was left distressed on Christmas morning as she woke up shouting that she was ‘not that woman anymore’.
Claiming she had an epiphany, Gail ran out to her partner Jesse and confessed that she needed a groom and that the wedding was back on.
He romantically asked her if she was available for 2pm as they confirmed that their big day was back.
Gail’s mother, Audrey Roberts (Sue Nicholls), attempted a last-minute olive branch and knocked on Gail’s door, to which her granddaughter Tina shot down her festive spirits and said she was not welcome.
Despite this, she still turned up at the venue before the big celebration to ‘wish her good luck’, to which Gail expressed her devastation that she did not support her decision to go abroad and start a new life.
With their relationship held together by a string, Audrey was given a second chance to withstand the test of time for their family bond.
But there was soon more drama as Nick’s (Ben Price) estranged wife, Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson), brought the police to the wedding as she accused him and his partner Toyah (Georgia Taylor), who is also her sister, of fraud.
Told he was going to the station, Nick looked to Leanne in disgust as he was forced out of his mother’s big day.
While it was speculated that the festive episode would see her death after suffering from a series of heart problems, Gail exited the iconic show by moving away to Jesse’s villa abroad
While the hour did not see her death, the Christmas day storyline saw an engagement, a pregnancy, an arrest, multiple fights and a lot tears
David adds a bit of drama to Gail’s big day
At the station, Nick was accused of spending nearly £400 on lingerie and an array of expensive candles and luxuries and was informed that they were all paid for by TLH Holdings.
Claiming he and Toyah knew nothing about the account, he continued to plead his innocence and begged to be let go to see his mum get married.
Released back in time to catch the vows Jesse proclaimed to Gail that ‘she makes him the happiest man on the planet,’ Nick looked relieved as he gets his Christmas wish.
Dubbing it the ‘first day of their new life’, Gail looked elated as she promised Jesse ‘she will love him until the day she dies’
But soon enough, Leanne gatecrashed the party and accused Toyah of always being the one for him and saying, ‘she was just keeping the bed warm’.
Refusing to leave her own restaurant and exchanging some digs about their sex life and Leanne’s son, the begrudged ex pushed Toyah and said she would ‘knock her teeth out.’
But after Leanne accused her of locking her son in a car and driving into a wall, Toyah punched Leanne in the face, starting a fight between the two, which saw a police man, Craig Tinker (Colson Smith), get assaulted and the wedding decorations get trashed.
Craig marched the two women to the station to be charged with assaulting a police officer, and the celebration got underway for the speeches and Platt’s home video, which was gifted to her by her children.
Gail has now had seven weddings over her time on the Cobbles
With the episode setting the scene for an emotional Christmas episode, Gail was being sinisterly serenaded by the ghost of her old murderous partner, Richard Hillman (Brian Capron)
Being haunted by the notorious villain, which ended in an argument about her past, Gail was left distressed on Christmas morning as she woke up shouting that she was ‘not that woman anymore’
After the wedding came to an end, Gail was left sitting on her own, crying over all the heartfelt comments before she was whisked away in a fancy wedding car.
While youngest son, David (Thomas Ormson), should have been at the ceremony celebrating his mother, he was feeling the devastation of losing his wife and stepped out to knock back a couple of whiskeys and accused Adam Barlow (Sam Rovertson) of sleeping with his wife, Shona (Julia Goulding).
Unhappy with the aim of the conversation, Adam aggressively pushed David out onto the roof while serving him the hard truth that he ‘couldn’t make Shona happy’.
But in a quick heat-of-the-moment reaction, David pushed him down the stairs, causing Adam to fall and hit his head on the cobbles – leaving him looking lifeless.
As an ambulance arrived, Adam slowly regained consciousness, leaving David and Shona to argue it out in the street.
David revealed he heard what Debbie said and accused her affair of happening when she was in the hotel that night.
Giving in to the guilt, Shona admitted her betrayal: ‘Alright I did sleep with someone but it wasn’t Adam, I swear on Lily’s life’.
Devastated, the pair took the argument into the house, where she revealed she was ashamed but thought the marriage is dead and doesn’t know what to do with it.
David and Adam got into an argument after Gail’s big day
The clash ended up with Adam on the floor covered in blood
But their argument was interrupted as bride Gail came home to check on her youngest son and tearfully told him that he needed to be kind and that while ‘he has a big mouth, he has a sensitive soul.’
And that ‘big mouth’ he put to use soon after he used his best man speech to take a swipe at his wife.
He told the room that while Gail was a woman of optimism and gives everyone a second chance, he does not.
Bringing a tear to everyone’s eye, David went through the most heartfelt aspects of his mum and how the street will never be the same without her.
And more drama was set for David when Adam’s CT scan came back clear, he told Tina that he wanted to go to the police and press charges.
Meanwhile, Daniel Osbourne (Rob Mallard) was faced with Gail’s granddaughter, Bethany Platt (Lucy Fallon), who was trying to call off their relationship and accused him of no longer loving her.
Daisy Midgeley (Charlotte Jordan), who he recently slept with following another one of their arguments, was hiding around the corner.
But as Daniel pulled out a diamond wedding ring, which Bethany tearfully accepted, Daisy looked devastated and quietly walked away despite her moving on with Kit Green.
Later in the episode, Daisy was seen holding a positive pregnancy test.
Throughout the episode, Gail also told each of her kids that they were ‘always her favourite’