Coronation Street has bid farewell to Melanie Hill as her alter ego Cathy Matthews has departed the ITV soap.
After seven years on the cobbles, Melanie revealed last month she was leaving.
Her exit scenes aired tonight (Friday, June 17) as Cathy said an emotional goodbye to her friends.
But why did Melanie Hill decide to quit Corrie?
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Why did Melanie Hill quit Coronation Street?
In an interview with The Mirror back in May, Melanie explained why she had decided the time was right to leave.
And it’s all to do with family.
“It’s not been an easy thing to decide,” she said.
“My family has been important but the pandemic has made a lot of people think about the future.
“It has changed a lot of things in my head. You’ve just got to see what’s important to you.
“I absolutely love everybody but it’s made me think about my family a lot and what the priorities are in my life.”
She went on to say she had been caring for her mum, who is 88.
“Soaps are pretty relentless. You never stop, really, and you’re always on call,” she added, explaining it was “lucky” she had finished filming so she was able to help when her mum needed her.
“If I was still working on Corrie, I would have been going out of my mind with worry…
“Now I don’t have to worry as much.”
Melanie also has grandchildren who live in Australia, who she would like to see more of.
How did Cathy leave Coronation Street?
Cathy’s exit scenes saw her break up with Brian and leave to stay with a friend.
After her kiss with Jim Fizz on Monday, Brian had said he didn’t want to lose her and begged her to move to Cornwall with him for a fresh start.
At first Cathy agreed to go with him, but it was clear it wasn’t what she wanted at all.
Evelyn pointed out it was clear Cathy didn’t want to go. Alex also felt she didn’t look very happy about it.
Cathy soon admitted: “It’s just that it’s moving a bit fast.”
Eventually as Brian was fussing over their move, Cathy blurted out she didn’t want to move to Cornwall with him.
She then explained to Brian there was something wrong between them and they needed to “face the facts”.
“I love you,” Brian said.
But Cathy explained although she loves him too, she didn’t think it was enough.
They then agreed to split up.
The next scene saw Cathy saying goodbye to her nephew Alex and friend Yasmeen to go and stay with her friend Reena.
“I’m only going down the road,” she revealed before saying she was moving to Chorlton, which is a short journey from the fictional Weatherfield.
Brian stopped the car, being driven by Roy, to give her some Pontefract cakes and Roy then drove her away from the cobbles.
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Will Cathy return to Coronation Street?
Despite Melanie explaining she’s hoping to work on drama series’ going forward, you can never say never to a Cathy comeback.
The door has been left open and Melanie has said she’s “grateful” for that.
Will we see Cathy back on the cobbles again before too long?
Coronation Street usually airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV.
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