Tristan Gemmill has hit back at claims he quit Coronation Street over the soaps’s workload.
Reports suggested cast members had been struggling to cope with putting out six episodes a week of the soap, but the actor who plays chef Robert Preston has hit back.
He told Digital Spy: “It’s got absolutely nothing to do with that… there’s 60-something people in a cast, there’s a natural turnover where some people feel it’s time for them to move on.
“Sometimes story dictates that it’s time for people to move on, and that’s an organic and necessary part of the soap opera process.
“It’s just sort of a coincidence that a few people happen to say the same thing at once, really,” he continued.
“I don’t think it means anything, it doesn’t point to the health of the show or anything to do with six episodes a week. We love doing six episodes a week!”
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Actress Kym Marsh revealed she had quit her role as Michelle Connor, while co-stars Lucy Fallon and Katie McGlynn were also revealed to be leaving.
Kate Connor actress Faye Brookes also announced she is leaving the show in a statement on Twitter.
It came amid reports the soap was in “chaos” and cast and crew were struggling to put out six episodes a week.
The Sun reported that mutiny was growing behind the scenes of the ITV soap.
The newspaper suggested that cast were becoming increasingly tired and struggling under the pressure of squeezing out six episodes a week.
The report said that the bosses may even bring in an outside consultant to fix the “chaos” the extra shows have caused.
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However, a source at ITV told ED!: “The very nature of a long running serial drama is that actors come and go all the time.
“Producers have recently introduced the four new members of the Bailey family and Gemma’s brother Paul.”
It was also announced that Casualty star Jane Hazlegrove would be joining the soap as Gemma and Paul’s mother Bernie.
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