Helen Flanagan could be set to return to Coronation Street after soap bosses reportedly begged her to come back.
The mum-of-two has been on maternity leave since last summer and gave birth to daughter Delilah, her second child with footballer fiancé Scott Sinclair, in June.
According to The Sun on Sunday, Corrie producers held crisis talks after Lucy Fallon became the seventh star to quit the show in just three months and are keen for Helen to return as Rosie Webster.
A source told the paper: “Things are pretty bleak behind the scenes.
“Bosses want to bring joy back, on and off screen. The plan is to bring back one or two high-profile stalwarts who are a hit with older viewers.
“They’re keen for Helen to sign after maternity leave. But producers will not budge on the gruelling schedule, and will continue the shock ‘modern’ storylines, even if they risk alienating older viewers.”
Legendary character Curly Watts, played by Kevin Kennedy, is also rumoured to return as producers look to revive the ITV soap amid a mass exodus, which has seen some of the show’s biggest stars jump ship.
CHECK OUT the soap stars who tried to crack Hollywood
The soap stars who tried to crack Hollywood - slider
1 of 14Emmett J Scanlan
He played the infamous villain on Hollyoaks but Brendan Brady soon turned into the good guy following his relationship with Ste Hay.However in 2013 he left the Channel 4 show and has since appeared in Peaky Blinders, Gangs of London and Guardian's of the Galaxy as the head riot guard.
2 of 14Adele Silva
Adele left the role of Kelly Windsor in Emmerdale in 2007 in an attempt to crack America.But, instead of setting Hollywood alight, in 2010 she was pictured working in a Ted Baker store in LA. She then returned to Emmerdale as Kelly in 2011 but left shortly after.
3 of 14Nikki Sanderson
Everyone knows Nikki as mouthy hairdresser Candice from Coronation Street. After leaving the cobbles she tried her hand at success across the pond – to lukewarm reception. She managed to land a role in film Boogeyman 3, but sadly for Nikki it went straight to DVD.Fast forward to 2012 and she joined the cast of Hollyoaks as Maxine Minniver.
4 of 14Nathalie Emmanuel
She shot to fame in this country as Sasha Valentine on the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks, but since her exit in 2010 she's managed to find fame stateside.As well as an appearance in the Fast and Furious franchise, Nathalie, landed a role in Game of Thrones as interpreter Missandei. She also features in the second film in the Maze Runner trilogy, The Scorch Trials.
5 of 14Ricky Whittle
Another Valentine sibling to swap Hollyoaks for Hollywood was Ricky who played Calvin from 2006 until 2011. Unfortunately he was shot dead on his wedding day by Theresa McQueen.He has since starred in The CW Network series The 100, playing Lincoln, and American God where he has taken on the role of Shadow Moon.
6 of 14Ben Hardy
This is one actor who has well and truly swapped Walford for Hollywood.After his shock departure from EastEnders, in which he played Peter Beale aka Ian Beale's son, Ben landed a role in X-Men: Apocalypse – an actual main, speaking part. He's also appeared in Bohemian Rhapsody, Mary Shelley and Netflix's movie 6 Underground.
7 of 14Sam Strike
Another EastEnders alumni, Sam quit his role as Johnny Carter in 2014 and went on to star in British drama film Bonded By Blood 2.He later made his Hollywood debut in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre prequel Leatherface and has since played a serial rapist in the Netflix show Mindhunter.
8 of 14Robert Kazinsky
Rob played EastEnders favourite Sean Slater from 2006 until 2009, but got his big American break when he was cast in the hit vampire series True Blood, playing Macklyn Warlow. He then appeared in Pacific Rim, Warcraft and Captain Marvel.Rob returned to EastEnders for a brief stint in 2019 but viewers are yet to see him make another comeback.
9 of 14Patsy Palmer
We loved Patsy as Bianca in EastEnders, but she left the soap in 2014 to pursue her American dream.While she's yet to be cast in any major roles, Patsy did manage to land a job in a Best Buy advert. Well everyone's got to start somewhere, haven't they?And despite being an actress turned DJ, it's Patsy's children that have made it big in the US.
10 of 14Lacey Turner
She's well known for playing Stacey Slater in EastEnders but in 2010 Lacey bowed out of the show after her onscreen character fled the country after killing Archie Mitchell.Ahh throwback.Following her departure from the show, Lacey played the part of a witch in ITV2's show Switch but it wasn't long before she reprised her role as Stacey.In 2014 she headed back onto the square and finally confessed to the police that she killed Archie.
11 of 14Michelle Keegan
Coronation Street fans will remember where Michelle Keegan first started on TV and it was on the Cobbles.The actress played Tina McIntyre and during her time on the show she hid her abortion from David Platt, she tried to keep Gary and Izzy's baby after she was their surrogate and she was left devastated after her dad faked his own death but ended up actually dying.It's safe to say that she went out with a bang, after all Rob Donovan pushed her off a balcony.After leaving the ITV show, Michelle went on to star in Tina and Bobby, Our Girl and Brassic.
12 of 14Rachel Shenton
From 2010 to 2013 Rachel Shenton starred in Hollyoaks as Mitzeee Minniver. The feisty character left the show and moved to America upon discovering she's five months pregnant with Riley Costello's baby.After leaving the Oaks, Rachel went on to star in Switched at Birth and White Gold. However, it was in 2018 when she won an Oscar for her short movie The Silent Child, in which she wrote and starred in.
13 of 14Martine McCutcheon
She's well known for playing Tiffany Mitchell in EastEnders but after Frank Butcher ran her over outside the Queen Vic she died.Fast forward a few years and Martine McCutcheon played Natalie in Love Actually. You know, the movie that everyone goes crazy about around Christmas time.She's also appeared in Agatha Christie's Marple, Midsomer Murders and as a panelist on Loose Women.
14 of 14Roxanne McKee
Roxanne first graced our screen as Louise Summer's in Hollyoaks. During her time in the village she cheated on Calvin Valentine with Warren Fox, had an abortion after not know who her baby daddy was and was murdered by her fiancé Warren Fox on their wedding night.Cute.After leaving the Channel 4 show, Roxanne went on appear in EastEnders: E20, Vendetta and Game of Thrones. In the popular HBO programme, she played Doreah; you know the woman who betrayed Daenerys with Xaro and was left to die in the vault with him.How charming?
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“No one has been particularly happy since former show boss Kate Oates left,” a source told The Sun.
“There are lots of scheduling issues and the workload has become very difficult to manage with six episodes a week.
“There are now lots of unhappy people who are jumping ship but many of them are ‘putting a spin on it’ publicly because they don’t want to upset their mates left trying to save the show.
“It’s not a great time to work on the show."
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Another report by the Mirror also suggests that even more stars are planning to leave the soap.
“I know of another half dozen actors who are considering their positions,” said an insider.
“The bosses have had a series of meetings to discuss the situation, but don’t seem to have come up with any concrete plans. They've got this old-school mindset of ‘no one is bigger than Corrie’.”
It’s thought that one of the major cast frustrations is a ban on social media endorsements.
One source told the publication: “The whole cast are miserable. They believe bosses are being hypocritical by forcing them to endorse sponsors like Costa and Co-Op on set but not allowing them to endorse anything on personal social media. They find the product placements embarrassing.”
However, another source has dismissed reports of a crisis.
They insisted: “It’s business as usual at Corrie. Cast come and go – it’s the nature of soaps."