Coronation Street Gail Platt final episode - last-minute rewrite, backstage tears and why she left

There will be tears, drama and a huge goodbye on Coronation Street this Christmas Day, as an icon bows out for good.

Corrie legend Helen Worth will depart the ITV soap - which airs on Virgin Media in Ireland - after 50 years, as her character Gail Platt quits Weatherfield. But will it be a happy ending for the soap favourite amid her plans for a fresh start with new man Jesse Chadwick? There's drama, bombshells and secrets exposed, not to mention betrayals as Gail's final episode mixes laughter, tears and some potential heartbreak. How Gail leaves the show and what her final scenes are will remain under wraps until transmission.

But what do we know about the episode, and what went on behind the scenes as Corrie prepares to say a final goodbye to one of the most iconic soap characters ever? There was a last-minute rewrite, a sweet surprise for Helen and a highly emotional leaving do too. There will be some special moments in the episode too, with her co-stars left devastated by Helen's departure. Here's everything we can reveal about Gail's farewell both onscreen and offscreen...

Christmas Day exit

Corrie boss Kate Brooks recently confirmed Helen Worth's final scenes on the show would feature on Christmas Day, around a series of bombshells and twists and turns. It's going to be a huge episode, that will result in Gail leaving Weatherfield behind for good. According to Kate, fans will be "crying and gasping" over what unravels.

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Kate told The Mirror: "[The episode is] set against Gail’s wedding, whether she goes through with that or not, I cannot tell anything. But this is a story with the Platts at the heart of it, it’s really festive, basically it’s a story about family and how secrets impact and implode on a family.

"So there’s a lot of betrayals, lots of secrets are exposed during this episode and it will be like classic Corrie with a bit of a twist. [We want] to make sure that we give glorious Gail the exit that she deserves." "She’s been such an icon on the street for such a long time. 50 years of television, which is amazing. We can’t tell a story on Christmas Day about her exit without it feeling and being steeped in nostalgia.

Helen Worth as bride Gail Platt in Coronation Street
(Image: ITV)

"There’s tons of nostalgia in this episode and hopefully people will be crying, they’ll be laughing, there’ll be gasps as people watching it go, ‘Oh my goodness, that’s just happened’ but yeah, old school Corrie but just with a real modern twist and I think people will really, really enjoy it."

Gail's moving exit storyline

Gail recently announced to her family that amid her plans to marry Jesse, she wanted to move away. She confirmed her plans for her and Jesse to move to the south of France to start their new lives together after their wedding. There's set to be some big bombshells in the lead-up to Gail's planned departure, with Corrie boss Kate spilling that "secrets come to the forefront", with Gail about to find out she's been betrayed by those closest to her. She's left questioning whether she can go through with her wedding, and by the end of the episode on Christmas Day we'll see Gail bidding farewell to Coronation Street in scenes said to be "wonderful and sad".

Corrie legend Helen Worth will depart the soap after 50 years
(Image: ITV)

Her own mother schemes to stop the marriage, and ends up giving her devastated daughter an ultimatum. But will it tear them apart for good? Audrey tells a shocked Gail though that if she marries Jesse, they're done. She warns: "You'll never see me again" as Gail sobs - so what will Gail do?

Helen's poignant reason for quitting

Helen Worth revealed earlier this year when she decided to depart the show, and explained what led to her shock exit from the soap. Helen explained it "felt right" to bow out after 50 golden years on the soap as one of the show's most popular and famous characters. As one of the show's longest serving cast members, she decided to move on from the show months ago, while it's only now been revealed.

Helen had played Gail Platt for 50 years
(Image: ITV)

Helen said: "This year felt like the perfect time to leave the show after celebrating 50 years in the most wonderful job on the most wonderful street in the world. I made the decision at the start of the year and spoke to the producers who were very kind and understanding.

“I have been truly blessed to have been given the most incredible scripts week in week out, and to have worked with fantastic actors, directors and a brilliant crew. The past 50 years have flown by and I don't think the fact that I am leaving has quite sunk in yet.”

Soap boss Iain MacLeod also discussed the major news. He said: “The words ‘legend’ and ‘icon’ get used a lot these days but they genuinely do apply to Gail and to Helen Worth. However, given her humility, I know Helen won’t thank me for saying so! In Helen’s hands, Gail has been a huge part of Coronation Street for five decades and at the centre of some of the most memorable storylines - often deriving from her catastrophically bad luck in choosing husbands!“Her ill-fated marriage to Richard Hillman was one of the most ground-breaking stories in soap history and cemented Gail’s already established status as one of the Corrie greats. As the matriarch of the Platt clan, her affectionately prickly relationships with her kids and flighty mum Audrey epitomise what makes the show great: complicated family dynamics brought to life impeccably by Helen’s dramatic and comedic chops, alongside those of her fictional clan.“Gail has given us countless hours of entertainment but it should also be said that Helen herself is a consummate professional and a thoroughly good egg. Everyone connected to the show will miss having her around the place just as much as the viewers will miss having her on their screens and we wish her all the very best for the future."

Gail and Jesse wedding

The big Christmas Day episode is set against the backdrop of Gail's wedding to Jesse Chadwick. But just as she prepares for her happy ending with her new love, there could be some bombshells that risk everything.

Gail is left torn over whether she's doing the right thing, and wonders if marrying Jesse could be a big mistake. Soon she's feeling betrayed after a number of discoveries, but will she go through with the big day and make it down the aisle? It's not being confirmed ahead of transmission whether Gail will marry Jesse or not.

Last-minute change to final scene

Speaking to The Mirror, David Platt actor Jack P Shepherd revealed he sparked a last-minute change to Helen's final ever filmed scene as Gail. With the show filming out of chronological order, Helen's last moments filming in the role were not her actual exit scenes.

So when Jack realised what had been written for her, he knew he had to change it. He demanded a rewrite, needing a scene with the entire Platt family after realising just he and Julia Goulding (Shona Platt) would feature in Helen's final take.

Soon enough the writers took action, and with a slight change to the filming schedule all of the cast were able to be there. Jack explained: "Her last scene filming was a scene with me and Julia. It was in the Platts.

Gail in Corrie
(Image: ITV)

"That was her last scene, and I went, no, no, her last scene has to be all of us. We all have to be there. They said there wasn't one where you're all together, and so I went, 'well f***ing write it! Write it! You know, you can.'

"So they went, yeah, we can, and they did. They wrote one. [I just wanted to] make sure we're all together in the Platts when she finally goes. Don't just have someone random with her or whatever. So they did. And luckily, they were able to do it and schedule it."

Heartbreaking goodbye to onscreen family

Jack also spoke about his own final scenes with Helen, just him, with each Platt child getting their own moment with Gail before she leaves in her final ever episode. But Jack struggled to film the "emotional" moment, even telling the director he would have to do it in one take as he found it difficult to say goodbye to his beloved co-star after 25 years.

He revealed: "We all had our own emotional scenes with her, separately. I think there's this thing where she comes to each of us separately and basically gives us a goodbye. Even in the rehearsals, I couldn't really run it. I couldn't really do it.

"I've only got one go at it. I've only got one take. I knew there'd be tears and there wouldn't be anything else left. I told the director John Anderson, 'I can't do it.'

"I went, 'Are you doing the close shots first?' and he said we'd do the close shots. I said, 'I'll do the close ones. Get Helen and me, and then we can do wides and everything. But if we're gonna do it, because it's me saying goodbye to Helen, it's Helen saying goodbye to me after 25 years, I'm only probably going to have one in me'.

"Helen was worried about getting the lines right. And I said it doesn't matter, does it? Just say whatever you want. She's saying goodbye, you know. So, yeah, we did it and it's really good."

Helen's emotional final day on set

The cast and crew working on the show made sure they were able to be there with Helen when they called 'cut' for the final time. Jack explained: "There were people on other units and other blocks and everything who were watching all the monitors and were saying it was really nice.

"[The studio] was full. So there was about 400 or 500 people in the studio. They all came down. And Lee, the first Assistant Director, came up to me and he went, 'What do you want to do? Because I've got every unit saying that they want to break and they all want to come in and say goodbye'.

"And he went, 'If I ask her she'll say no so what should we do?'. I said, 'Ah, just f***ing do it. Just do it'. She'll cry. She'll be emotional. But you're meant to. It's 50 years." On Helen hoping to leave without a fuss, Jack told us: "She wanted to do the back door. Didn't want to create a fuss for people. I said, it's not so much for you, it's for the building. It's for everyone."

This was when the cast filmed the scene with all the Platts together, no doubt making it even more emotional. Following this, Helen and her Corrie pals headed for drinks at The Bistro to celebrate her final scenes.

Co-stars' heartbreak

Onscreen son Jack wasn't the only one gutted by Helen's exit from the role. Shona actress Julia Goulding confessed she was devastated to see Helen leave.

She told us: "It was horrendous and emotional on so many levels. From my point of view, personally, I’ve not only worked with Helen for eight years but I’ve watched her since I can remember.

"Gail has been part of my life since I started watching Corrie. The last eight years getting to know Helen as a person as well. It was incredibly emotional, but off you go Helen... enjoy!"

Helen Worth attends the 'NHS Heroes Awards' held at the Hilton Park Lane on May 14, 2018 in London, England.
(Image: Samir Hussein/Getty)

Tyrone Dobbs actor Alan Halsall also shared his thoughts. Speaking about Helen's exit, he said: "It came as a surprise to a lot of us. I know she said it to the people that are part of her family but it came as a surprise to a lot of us. Helen is one of the top three legends - like Bill Roache, Barbara Knox and Helen. They're the matriarch and patriarchs of Coronation Street. To lose somebody like that - and for the show to lose someone like Gail, who has had some incredible stories over the year with her husbands, it will be a real loss for the show."

Helen's leaving do

As for Helen's leaving do, Jack shared how her husband Trevor Dawson was there as the cast celebrated - with a speech that made everyone cry. Jack told: "It was really nice. We had the thing in the bistro, champagne, a few drinks on her last day. It was really lovely. They did a really nice montage.

"It was great. Everybody was very happy. Me, Ben [Price] and Tina [O'Brien], we gave a little speech. It really was [lovely]." Helen had a surprise of her own, with her paying tribute to Gail's five ex-husbands - Brian Tilsley, Martin Platt, Richard Hillman, Joe McIntyre and Michael Rodwell - with a T-shirt.

Recalling the moment, Jack explained that she had walked into the Corrie restaurant to the soap's iconic theme tune before revealing the garment, which featured all of her ex-husbands' names. Spilling the beans during another instalment of the On The Sofa podcast, which he hosts with Corrie co-stars Ben Price and Colson Smith, the star said about the T-shirt, according to The Sun: "I thought that was a nice touch, that was quite amusing.

"Then she gave a little speech and thanked everybody and said what a marvellous time she’d had and she’s going to miss everybody — there were lots of tears. She didn’t want a fanfare. So we kind of convinced her to do something because it was for everybody."

Helen's other TV son Ben, who has portrayed Nick Tilsley since 2009, added, when explaining why the cast and crew had to hire a private room: "You don’t want to make too much of it, but if you don’t have a private room, you’ve got a whole table of The Platts. It’s just awkward.

"It’s The Platts' Christmas do and it just stops a place. It was a really personal moment for us all. I think she had a really good send-off. We’ll miss her."

Coronation Streetairs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on Virgin Media.

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