Soap actress Helen Worth thanked viewers for “coming on the journey with me” as she said farewell to her Coronation Street character Gail Rodwell after 50 years on the cobbles.
Worth exited the soap in an emotional Christmas Day episode that saw Gail finally get her happy ending, as she married Jesse Chadwick (John Thomson) and said goodbye to her family and friends.
After she had a nightmare in which her late serial killer ex-husband Richard Hillman tried to stop her marrying Jesse, Gail decided she wanted nothing more than to be Mrs Chadwick and to swap Weatherfield for a new life in France.
The tears from her on-screen family were real as she was driven away down the cobbles, ITV said.
In a pre-recorded message shared on social media, which showed the actress sitting in her family living room on set, the 73-year-old said: “Hello, all of you. It’s wonderful to have this opportunity to say, ‘ta ta!’.
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“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 years. Is there anybody? And those of you who’ve 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.
“All the stories, and of course, 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. Bye.”
In the episode, Gail appeared at the altar where she vowed to adore Jesse “to the day I die”.
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“I was a little mouse, I grew up in the shadow of a glamorous mother and glamorous friends, no-one expected I would amount to much – little Gail Potter, pottering through life,” she said.
“I’ve been blessed and cursed, and now I’m blessed again.”
It marks the end of half a century of playing the much-loved – and often married – Gail.
Gail married her first husband Brian Tilsley, played by Christopher Quinten, in 1979 and they welcomed their first child, a son Nick, in 1980.
But their lives together became strained, with Gail divorcing him after having an affair with Brian’s cousin Ian Latimer.
They later remarried when their daughter Sarah was born in 1987, but just a year later Brian was stabbed to death by a group of teenagers outside a nightclub.
Following Brian’s death, Gail found herself in a relationship with Martin Platt, portrayed by Sean Wilson, who was 10 years her junior.
They welcomed their son David in 1990 and married the following year before moving into the famous No 8 house with their children.
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After a decade together, the marriage fell apart in 2000 when Martin confessed to having an affair with Rebecca Hopkins, with the couple divorcing a year later.
During the summer, Worth’s exit storyline was thrown into uncertainty after Wilson returned to the show briefly but later left for “personal reasons”.
The actor, who had starred in the soap for more than two decades, later claimed he was axed when a historic assault allegation emerged – which he denies.
Meanwhile, Gail’s next marriage turned out to be her most tumultuous as husband Richard Hillman – played by Brian Capron – was a con artist and serial killer.
After confessing his crimes to Gail, he attempted to murder Gail and her children by tying them up in the family car and driving them into the canal.
The Platts were rescued from the water but Richard drowned, bringing his homicidal days to an end in 2003.
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Gail waited a while before diving into another marriage but she found herself in a secret relationship with Joe McIntyre, the father of Tina, who was dating Gail’s son David.
Their relationship was discovered and the couple married in 2010 after Joe, played by Reece Dinsdale, sought help for his painkiller addiction issues.
Their relationship also came to a dramatic end after Joe tried to fake his death to claim life insurance money, but drowned in the process.
Michael Rodwell (Les Dennis) was Gail’s fifth husband – they first met when he attempted to burgle her house.
They married in 2015, but split after a dispute over Michael’s son.
Not long after, Michael died from a heart attack in 2016.
Having joined the cobbles in July 1974, Worth’s character has been a prominent figure in a number of explosive storylines gripping the soap over the years, with her ill-fated love life coming to define the character.
In 2014, ITV honoured the long-serving actress with a documentary celebrating her 40 years on the soap with a one-off special titled Gail & Me.
After being made an MBE for her services to drama in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2022, Worth told the PA news agency: “To have had a job and one that I love, and to be able to work in it is quite extraordinary.
“And then to get an award for it is just the icing on the cake.”
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