Coronation Street star Brooke Vincent will be off-screen for at least two years.
The actress plays Sophie Webster in the ITV soap but went on maternity leave in 2019.
She later welcomed her son Mexx with footballer partner Kean Bryan and took maternity leave.
However during her maternity leave she announced she was pregnant with her second baby, meaning she won’t be reprising her role any time soon.
A source told The Sun: “The door is open for Brooke to return whenever she wishes but that won’t be before the birth and so the executives are realistically looking at next summer before she’s in a place to start talking about her Corrie job.
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“That will mean she’s been away from the soap for two years.”
Brooke’s final Corrie scenes were filmed last August but she left on screen in the October.
And a Corrie spokeswoman has confirmed the door will always be open for Brooke to return as Sophie.
A Coronation Street spokeswoman said: “There was never a fixed return date for Brooke, and there is no pressure for her to return within any particular time frame.
“The door has been left open for her at any point in the future, whenever that might be.”
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Brooke Vincent definitely wants to return to Coronation Street
The actress recently confirmed that she will return to Corrie – when she’s ready.
When asked if she had plans to return to Coronation Street, Brooke told OK!: “I do, but I’ve been in Corrie from the age of 11, so I feel like it’s a natural break for me to have – having kids and being a mum. It goes too quick.
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“Mexx is one and I don’t know where the time has gone.
“I would really regret not being at home with them as much as I can be. While I can stay off work I’m going to.”
She also told how she is “quite chilled” about having two kids under two to cope with.
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