List of Coronation Street characters introduced in 2024

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "List of Coronation Street characters introduced in 2024" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Coronation Street is a British soap opera first broadcast on ITV on 9 December 1960.^[1] The following is a list of characters introduced in 2024, by order of first appearance. In February Emily Wilkinson (Ellena Vincent) joined the cast as the wife of Joel Deering (Callum Lill),^[2] followed by John Perry played by played by former Peaky Blinders actor Ian Peck, who was an associate of Harvey Gaskell (Will Mellor). Rowan Cunliffe (Emrhys Cooper) made his debut in March and will be followed by Absolutely Fabulous star Helen Lederer is also set to make a guest appearance as Elspeth on March 27. Kit (Jacob Roberts) made his first appearance on 13 May 2024, part of a plot-twist as being the son of Bernie Winter (Jane Hazlegrove). In June 2024, the parents of Joel Deering, Anthea Deering and Gus Deering, were introduced. ^[3]

Emily Wilkinson (also Deering), played by Ellena Vincent, is the mystery woman who knows Joel Deering (Calum Lill). She interrupts him whilst he is to the middle of a meeting with a client and she didn't seem happy with him. After she bumps into him, he escorts her out of the Bistro and Toyah Habeeb (Georgia Taylor) watches on them.^[4] In 2024, Vincent was spotted in EastEnders and lots of fans were baffled to see her in Coronation Street and EastEnders at the same time.^[5]

Emily is the ex-wife of Joel and is a part of a big storyline about Joel's past along with his parents, who arrived on 5 June 2024.^[6] When Joel revealed to his girlfriend Dee Dee Bailey (Channique Sterling-Brown) that Emily was his soon to be ex-wife, and that he also has a daughter named Maeve, Dee Dee broke up with him after she found out. Days later, she talks to Dee Dee to let her know that she was over with Joel and they are getting divorced.^[7]

John Perry, played by Ian Peck,^[8] is a man who is prepared to confess to the murder of Natasha Blakeman (Rachel Leskovac) so Harvey Gaskell (Will Mellor) can be released from prison sort out his half-brother Damon Hay (Ciaran Griffiths) for Adam Barlow (Sam Robertson), whose wife Sarah Barlow (Tina O'Brien) had an affair with and subsequently begins a relationship with.^[8] It was announced on 31 January 2024 that Peck would be playing a guest character and would only be on Coronation Street for a short stint.^[8] This was Peck's third guest role in Coronation Street after playing a prison officer named Lindworth,^[8] and drug dealer Denton in 2015.^[8]

Harvey arranges for Adam to meet him at Weatherfield General Hospital. He does so, but finds out that John is a cancer patient and doesn't have long to live as it's terminal and has finished treatment. When Adam realises this and that he has a family including grandchildren, his conscience begins to make him feel like backing out of the plan as he believes that John should spend the rest of his time left with his grandchildren, but John says he would see the jail time as a punishment for the crimes he committed when he was younger. However, when Adam finds out that his wife Sarah wants to move out of the flat and into a new home with Damon and his stepson Harry Platt (Freddie and Isaac Rhodes), whom he sees as his own son, he decides to go along with the plan, but his conscience later gets the better of him.

Rowan Cunliffe, played by Emrhys Cooper, made his debut on Friday 15 March.^[9] His casting was announced by Digital Spy on Tuesday 5 March.^[10] He met Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson) and Simon Barlow (Alex Bain) at the Chariot Square Hotel where they attend an event together.^[11] After Simon confessing to drink driving with Sam Blakeman (Jude Riordan) in the back of the car, Leanne decides to help Simon by taking him to a seminar at the hotel being held by a mysterious group called The Institute.^[12] Debbie Webster (Sue Devaney) advises Nick goes along with them as there's a wedding fayre on local to the hotel.^[13] On Rowan's character, Digital Spy reported that "Rowan approaches Leanne and offers her some unsolicited advice. Leanne is initially taken aback by Rowan's approach, but she drops her guard when he encourages her to share her deepest thoughts and feelings. When Rowan leaves and flashes Leanne a smile, she can't help but blush. Does this Weatherfield newcomer have a hidden agenda?"^[14]

When Rowan arrived in Coronation Street, he begins to manipulate Leanne into The Institute, which begins to cause a rift in her relationship with Nick.^[15] This led to him having an affair with Leanne's step-sister, Toyah Habeeb (Georgia Taylor), which Rowan finds out about and uses the information to blackmail Nick into investing into The Institute after he suggests to Leanne that it would be a good idea to invest £40,000 in the business.^[15] Rowan, along with Leanne have also been trying to persuade Amy Barlow (Elle Mulvaney) into joining The Institute. Cooper spoke out about the behaviour of his character: "I think that he really wants to open another resource centre, so he's on a mission to raise the investment needed, however he can do that, and he wants to 'help' more people, so there might be some more characters he's bringing into the organisation…."^[15] Cooper added that he had "quite a lot of insight" when he researched into the role of Rowan before auditioning,^[15] and said it was "because I want to try to make the story as believable as possible".^[15]

On 12 July 2024, it was announced that Cooper would be departing Coronation Street.^[15] The Mirror reported that he would leave when his story "eventually comes to a close",^[15] but the storyline "is not ending soon, as the character's behaviour will worsen and escalate over the coming months."^[15] However, Digital Spy reported that Rowan's storyline was "always intended to run for a fixed period of time and set out with a clear beginning, middle and end."^[15] After being arrested on 9 September 2024, it was believed that Rowan had departed the series, however Cooper confirmed at the Inside Soap Awards, on 30 September 2024: "He hasn't quite finished his naughty business yet. There might be a little bit more of a twist yet to see, so keep watching and you'll soon see."^[16] When asked whether it was important to see Rowan get his comeuppance, Cooper replied: "I think so! It's been so fun playing Rowan. I think he's caused so much trouble that that would have to happen, right?"^[16] Cooper reflected on his time on Coronation Street: "It's been really fun, really exciting. It's a very important role, important subject matter. Just spreading the awareness has been a dream come true. There was lots of drama on screen, but off screen there was lots of laughs, lots of love. I made some really good friends and I enjoyed it all, really. Every day was a pleasure. I felt very comfortable with the actors I worked with. They gave me so much, so it was a really beautiful experience that I'll always treasure."^[16] Cooper was asked if Rowan would have tried to recruit anyone else. He laughed and responded: "Just the people with the most money, really! It would have been fun to do Ken! But I think it's the dollar amount – the most money would have been the most appealing."^[16]

Elspeth, played by Helen Lederer, made a guest appearance on 27 March.^[17] She caught the eye of Ken Barlow (William Roache) during a singles' cocktail night at the Chariot Square Hotel.^[17] She sends drinks over to him and his son-in-law Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson).^[17] Lederer had already teased a potential role on Coronation Street before her casting was officially announced on March 17.^[17] She first spoke out about her casting to Digital Spy saying "It came out of the blue but for me Coronation Street, of all the soaps, is the most substantial and ironic with such humour, it's really a class act. So when you get the call for Coronation Street you drop everything. And to be offered a part playing a role opposite William Roache is even more exciting. I had met him once before when I sat next to him at an event and I thought what a lovely man he was and so personable. So for me to be offered this brief role was a joy."^[17] Although Elspeth is only set to appear in one episode for now, Helen confirmed that she's open to returning to the role in the future and said "The answer to that is 'most definitely'. Ken had Steve to deal with but he was certainly interested in her. He definitely made sure he got her number, he initiated it. So who knows one day he might actually call her and I can come back to Weatherfield."^[17]

Rebecca, played by Gemma Merna, is a client of Adam Barlow (Sam Robertson) whom he is to set his sights on.^[18] She made a guest appearance on 15 April. Inside Soap first reported Merna's casting on 2 April 2024 and Rebecca has been described to be a guest character as "Digital Spy understands that it is indeed just a small appearance in an episode, and it isn't expected to be a recurring role."^[18] Merna also commented on her casting by saying "I've wanted to be on Coronation Street since I was a little girl."^[18] She further discussed her feelings towards her casting by saying "Can you believe it?! I've wanted to be on Coronation Street since I was a little girl. Being born and bred in Manchester, it's truly a dream come true for me. It's been on my vision board for over 10 years, and finally, I got the chance to walk the cobbles. I can’t even believe I'm writing this. I think the best part was ringing my mum and telling her."^[18] Merna also told Digital Spy that her family have been fans of Coronation Street by saying "To my dad, nana, grandad, and grandma, who all watched it for many years, and were huge fans. I hope you're proud of me up there. Rebecca will be gracing your screens in the next coming weeks."^[18]

Denny Foreman, played by Danny Cunningham,^[19] is the estranged father of Gemma Winter (Dolly-Rose Campbell) and Paul Foreman (Peter Ash) who made his first appearance on 29 April 2024 after hearing Paul talk about motor neurone disease and the struggles he has from suffering from it on the radio.^[19] His casting was announced on 22 April.^[19] Denny walked out on his family in 1992, when he and Bernie Winter (Jane Hazlegrove) split up. Gemma and Paul were two years old.

Digital Spy reported that Denny's arrival will cause concern for Paul's family including his husband Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank), who "is also unhappy over Denny, reminding Paul that Denny used to be violent towards him when he was a child."^[19] Bernie is also upset at Denny's sudden arrival as "she's worried that Denny might expose secrets from her past"^[19] to her current partner Dev Alahan (Jimmi Harkishin). This will be Cunningham's second role in the soap as he previously appeared as Jimmy Sykes between 2000 and 2001.^[19] Chloe Timms from Inside Soap called the character "horrid" and hoped that Bernie would chase the character "out of Weatherfield".^[20]

On 24 September 2024, it was announced that Denny would be returning to Coronation Street for Paul's funeral.^[21] He appeared in scenes airing on 2 October 2024.^[21] As the day of Paul's funeral arrives, Billy is emotional as it would have been their first wedding anniversary.^[21] After he arrives at the church, he is appalled to see Denny lurking around drunk.^[21] Knowing that everyone will be upset to see Denny again after he tried to steal from Paul, he orders him to stay hidden.^[21] On 30 September 2024, at the Inside Soap Awards, Daniel Brocklebank, who plays Billy, spoke out about Paul's funeral episode: "To film it was incredibly emotional. It's Corrie, so the fans can expect it to be moving, humorous, a bit of drama."^[22] On Denny's unexpected arrival, Daniel added: "Naughty Denny! What is he doing? He's so naughty. He does turn up. Billy's focus is more on the fact that he's about to bury his husband on what would have been their wedding anniversary. So he's thrown a little bit by Denny turning up. I don't know how much I can say without spoiling it, but it causes issues, let's just say that!"^[22]

Ellie Benton, played by Lola Blue, made her first appearance on 8 May 2024.^[23] Blue was introduced as part of the disappearance of Lauren Bolton (Cait Fitton) storyline. She is first seen when Nicky Wheatley (Kimberly Hart-Simpson) was having a conversation with her to see if she had any information on Lauren's disappearance.^[23] Later Bethany Platt (Lucy Fallon) went to visit her after to see if she knew who attacked Lauren but she lied to her and told her it was Nathan Curtis (Christopher Harper), as Bethany left Joel Deering (Calum Lill) walked into the room and it was revealed that he also abused Ellie. Later when Bethany is speaking to her mother Sarah Platt (Tina O'Brien), Joel overheard that the police were going to speak to Ellie, but when they got there Ellie was already gone and Joel threatened her to stay quiet.^[23]

On 16 September 2024, Ellie reappeared alongside support worker, Nicky Wheatley (Kimberly Hart-Simpson) to see DS Lisa Swain (Vicki Myers) as Ellie is another victim of Joel's abuse.^[24] Joel had tried to enter the Underworld factory to serve Carla Barlow (Alison King) the proceedings for slander against her,^[24] however Swain stepped in to diffuse the situation.^[24] Swain then tells Dee Dee Bailey (Channique Sterling-Brown) that Ellie was coming to see her with Nicky and they all meet in Dee Dee's flat.^[24] Whilst in the flat, Ellie confirmed that Joel had groomed her, abused her and attacked her, just like he did to Lauren.^[24] Dee Dee and Swain both desperately tried to convince her to make an official statement against Joel, but Ellie was too terrified of what he would do if she did.^[24] She had a change of heart after visiting Lauren at the hospital and seeing Frankie Bolton in an incubator and hearing Lauren's heartbreaking story about Joel abusing her.^[24] Ellie also revealed that Joel's former company forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) regarding her 'relationship' with him.^[24] Dee Dee then visited the firm and convinced the boss to do the right thing and drop the NDA and provide all the incriminating texts on Joel's old workphone.^[24] Dee Dee then took the evidence to Weatherfield Police Station with the hope that Swain's boss would reopen the case against Joel.^[24] She briefly encountered Joel and hinted that he wouldn't be free for much longer.^[24] Swain later confirmed to Dee Dee that the case had been reopened with the hope that he would be sent down for his crimes.^[24]

Christopher "Kit" Green, played by Jacob Roberts, made his first appearance on 13 May 2024. He is the secret son of Bernie Winter (Jane Hazlegrove) that she had conceived whilst she was with her other children's father, Denny (Danny Cunningham).^[25] His casting details were initially announced on 23 April 2024; however, the character's name was not yet revealed.^[26] Roberts' revealed he knew about the plot-twist beforehand.^[25] He also added that he had quite a journey during the audition process to obtain the role.^[27]

Anthea Deering, played by Carol Royle, and Gus Deering, played by Chris Garner, are the parents of Joel Deering (Calum Lill), who made their first appearances on 5 June 2024.^[28] It was initially announced on 15 February 2024 that Joel's parents would be arriving in Coronation Street;^[28] however, the names of his parents were revealed on 30 May 2024.^[28] Anthea and Gus met Joel's girlfriend. Dee Dee Bailey (Channique Sterling-Brown),^[28] but took a dislike to her as it has been described: "it is an uphill battle with Joel’s parents Anthea and Gus, who make their disapproval of Dee Dee clear."^[28] When Lill, who plays Joel, was asked about whether the introduction of Joel's parents would help audiences understand his past, he said, "definitely. Joel is the middle child from a middle class family. He's navigating that and trying to be good enough. I'm looking forward to seeing how that unfolds."^[29]

It was announced on 18 June 2024 that Anthea and Gus would be returning to Coronation Street, and their returns aired on 24 June 2024.^[30] They met Joel and Dee-Dee at The Bistro, where Anthea apologised for her behaviour at their previous lunch meeting.^[30] Gus and Anthea, however are taken aback when waitress Amy Barlow (Elle Mulvaney) reveals that Joel and Dee-Dee are engaged.^[30]

Betsy Swain, portrayed by Sydney Martin, was initially introduced as an unnamed friend of Sabrina Adetiba (Luana Santos) on 21 June 2024,^[31] when lawyer, Joel Deering (Calum Lill) was beginning to manipulate her and gave her his business card. Betsy pretended to dispose of it, but later went to find him to warn him off. A week later, on 28 June, Betsy begins to blackmail Joel into paying her to keep quiet after realising he has dark secrets.^[31] After Joel paid Betsy off, she went and bought herself some chips, which was when she was revealed to be the daughter of DS Lisa Swain (Vicky Myers),^[31] who confronted her about the chips and she knew that Betsy didn't have the money for them, so she lied to Lisa and said a friend bought them, showing some tension in their relationship. Betsy is set to be employed at Underworld after blackmailing Carla Barlow (Alison King) when she sees her having a "violent altercation with a yob who's hassling Roy Cropper (David Neilson), she threatens to tell the police unless Carla hires her at the factory over the summer."^[31]

Martin told Digital Spy, "Betsy has been brought up by two female detectives, but she seems to have contempt for the law."^[31] She also discussed her character's background and her behaviour by saying, "obviously she's lost her other mum when she was on duty, so she already has some disrespect for the career. Lisa stayed on, and that causes a bit of tension in their relationship."^[31] Martin also described her character's personality, "there's also this feeling that 'Mummy can get me out of it'. There's this playfulness there. She's a little bit naïve and thinks that the law doesn't apply to her, so she's teetering on the edge."^[31]

Dorin Pop is the son of Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall) and Alina Pop (Ruxandra Porojnicu).^[32] He first appears in the episode originally broadcast on 9 August 2024. The creation of the character was leaked into the media after the announcement of Porojnicu's return had been unveiled.^[33] The plot twist was set to "bring up a lot of emotions" with Tyrone.^[32] Dorin first appears jumping into a taxi with Alina and grandmother Cassie Plummer (Claire Sweeney), unbeknownst to Alina that Cassie is Tyrone's biological mother. She takes Alina to Coronation Street, where she comes face to face with Tyrone for the first time since she departed the serial in 2021.^[33] Fans speculated that Dorin is not Tyrone's biological son.^[34]

Halsall was interviewed by Digital Spy about the plot twist.^[32] "First and foremost, he's [Tyrone] just settling into married life now with Fiz", Halsall explained, "It's only a couple of years, after a 20-year romance, that they finally got married. He's living this domestic bliss so the last thing he wants is anything interrupting that."^[32] Halsall conveyed he "could only imagine" the emotions Tyrone would endure throughout the ordeal. Halsall believed "not knowing about it" and "missing all that time" will stir emotions up for Tyrone on his own childhood. Halsall added, "Obviously knowing there's nothing he can do [about the past], he wants to make a point from now to be the best person he can be in that child's life."^[32] Even though this drama would make things difficult for Fiz and Tyrone, Halsall is confident the "iconic couple" will survive the "latest test".^[32]

Francis "Frankie" Bolton is the son of Lauren Bolton (Cait Fitton) and Joel Deering (Calum Lill).^[35] He is born in August 2024 prematurely after Lauren is unknowingly spiked by Joel. She gives birth to a fighting Frankie who is unable to support his own life. Lauren decided to name Frankie after her grandfather, Francis. Joel also points out his grandfather was also called Francis.

Lauren returns pregnant in early July 2024, much to Joel's dismay.^[35] Speaking about the plot twist and storyline, Fitton explained "Lauren has never had unconditional love – she doesn't know what that is. When anyone tries to get close to her, her guard automatically goes up. I think with her child, she will be that child's role model. That baby is going to be with her through everything. She is powerful and she has got someone that's going to love her unconditionally, when she's never had that."^[35] Fitton conveyed Lauren's fears for her baby and herself of Joel, adding she is "petrified". Fitton further explained, "Parents will know that your baby comes first – that's Lauren. She doesn't care what happens to her now – as long as that baby's safe, that's all she cares about. I think she'll always make mistakes, though. What is the perfect parent if you've never been one? There's no such thing. You go with your gut instincts and what's right."^[35]

Logan Radcliffe, portrayed by Harry Lowbridge,^[36] is the brother of Mason Radcliffe (Luca Toolan).^[36] Logan is set to make his first appearance on 11 October 2024.^[36] His character will be part of a storyline which would be exploring Mason's traumatic background as a way for viewers to see another side of his character.^[36] Toolan spoke about Mason's past: "I think this is the kind of abuse Mason has faced his whole life which unfortunately is what has shaped him into the kind of person he is today. I think once Mason is fully back on screen, we will see little nuggets of things which we will be able to explore further into his backstory and give a clearer insight into his family life."^[36] Mason has previously mentioned his abusive older siblings to Stu Carpenter (Bill Fellows) and Yasmeen Nazir (Shelley King), and has recently had a black eye as a result of this violence.^[36]

Logan is set to arrive when Stu goes over to confront him after Mason points out that his brother is watching him from his car down the street.^[36] As Stu tries to confront him, Logan drives off.^[36] Subsequently, Stu and Yasmeen, who has recently been uneasy with Stu's growing bond with Mason, are faced with worry after a brick is thrown through their window when they get home.^[36] Stu instantly suspects that Logan is responsible as he recently tried to force Mason to participate in a robbery.^[36] These events will potentially push Yasmeen beyond her limits.^[36]