Coronation Street star Sean Wilson previously vowed to never return to the ITV soap. The 59-year-old is best known for his role as Martin Platt and was set to make a triumphant return as part of Gail Platt’s (Helen Worth) exit storyline.
However, the soap was thrown into chaos as Sean was suddenly axed, with his scenes no longer being aired. Bosses are now scrambling to rewrite Helen’s departure scenes which will come in October following more than 50 years on the cobbles.
A representative for the soap told Express Online that Sean stepped down for “personal reasons”. Despite Sean preparing to reprise the role of Martin at first, his sudden departure coincides with previous comments he made about a possible return to the soap.
The actor quit Coronation Street in 2005 after he fell out with bosses over a controversial storyline. He vowed to never set foot on the cobbles again and branded bosses “rude” after his character Martin seduced an underage girl.
“I will act again – but never with Coronation Street,” he told the Daily Star at the time: “They were very rude to me when I left. I would rather walk down any other street even if I had a nail in my shoe.”
After two decades on the soap, Sean switched careers and became a cheesemaker with his own business, Saddleworth Cheese Company. He also published recipe books, including The Great North Cookbook in 2012.
Sean briefly reprised the role of Martin in 2018 as part of David Platt’s (Jack P Shephard) male rape storyline. At the time, a source told Daily Star that producers “bent over backwards” to convince him to return.
The insider said: “They must have bent over backwards to convince him. Most stars leave quietly no matter how embittered they might feel about their exits. But Sean didn’t. He pulled no punches about why he left and how he would never come back.”
In 2022, Sean vowed to never return to the soap once again as he admitted the underage girl storyline made him feel “deeply uncomfortable”.
He told The Sun: “I didn’t want to do it and suggested they could bring in another actor, but the producer was insistent. It wasn’t for me, so I told them, “No, I will not be doing that storyline and I suggest that maybe you go and have a rethink.”
Sean added: “They came back a couple of weeks later and said, ‘No, we do feel that this storyline is going to go ahead.'” As a result, Sean announced he would be leaving and Martin left the Cobbles in 2005 – but not before his character had a relationship with 16-year-old Katy Harris (Lucy-Jo Hudson).