Weatherfield’s revolving door has been spinning fast. Catherine Tyldesley returned to Coronation Street as Eva Price in October 2025 after seven years away, taking over the Rovers Return with a new family in tow. Ryan Thomas followed months later, reprising Jason Grimshaw for his on-screen mum’s departure. The returns come as the ITV soap faces budget cuts and major cast changes heading into 2026.
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Eva Price Takes the Rovers
Tyldesley’s comeback on October 27, 2025, wasn’t a quiet affair. The actress arrived with husband Ben Driscoll (Aaron McCusker), his mother Maggie (Pauline McLynn), daughter Susie, and Ben’s two sons. The blended family purchased the Rovers Return, putting Eva back behind the bar where she made her name between 2011 and 2018.
“We are beyond thrilled that Eva is returning as the landlady of the Rovers, with her new blended family in tow,” executive producer Kate Brooks told ITV. “The Driscolls do not arrive quietly, so expect big drama, explosive secrets and raucous knees-ups galore.”
The role required Tyldesley to go blonde again after sporting brunette hair since her 2018 exit. She’s already indicated the future remains uncertain. Speaking to the Express in November 2025, she admitted: “Well, it depends when they get fed up with me! I mean that laugh can get quite irritating!”
Jason Grimshaw Returns for Eileen’s Exit
Thomas brought Jason back to the cobbles in May 2025, nine years after leaving the role in 2016. The return served one purpose: helping his on-screen mum Eileen Grimshaw leave Weatherfield.
Sue Cleaver personally asked Thomas to come back. “When I decided to leave, over a year ago, I rang him and said, ‘Ryan, I’m going to tell them that I’m going. If they ask me about exits, I’d really like to say that you’d come back and take me out,'” Cleaver revealed to Digital Spy. “He just went: ‘Oh my gosh, of course I would’.”
Jason appeared in scenes throughout May 2025, asking Eileen to join him in Thailand where he runs a bar. The storyline gave Cleaver her preferred ending after 25 years playing Eileen.
Cleaver Departs After Quarter Century
Eileen Grimshaw left on June 6, 2025. Cleaver, 61, made the decision to quit and pursue theatre work.
Her final storyline saw Eileen wrongly implicated in half-sister Julie Carp’s death before clearing her name. Faced with staying in Weatherfield with partner George Shuttleworth or starting fresh, she chose Thailand with Jason.
“I’m now 61 and I feel I’m now at a stage in my life… I have no responsibilities left and I want to do something new,” Cleaver said on Loose Women. “I want this decade to be about me.”
She’s since appeared in Sister Act and Snake In The Grass on stage.
Corriedale Claims Billy Mayhew
The January 5, 2026, crossover with Emmerdale brought tragedy instead of reunion. Daniel Brocklebank’s 11-year run as vicar Billy Mayhew ended when his character died in a minibus explosion during the historic Corriedale episode.
The one-hour special featured 41 characters from both soaps caught in a multi-vehicle crash on a country road near Hotten. Billy was trapped in the driver’s seat when the vehicle caught fire. His boyfriend Theo Silverton appeared to help but instead left him to die.
Corriedale launched ITV’s new scheduling format. Both soaps now air 30-minute episodes weeknights at 8pm (Emmerdale) and 8.30pm (Coronation Street).
Budget Cuts Drive Cast Changes
The returns come against a backdrop of financial pressure. ITV is cutting ยฃ15 million from soap budgets, with reports suggesting one in ten cast members across Coronation Street and Emmerdale could lose their jobs.
Several actors departed in 2025:
- Helen Worth (Gail Platt) left Christmas Day after 50 years
- Charlotte Jordan (Daisy Midgeley)
- Paddy Bever (Max Turner)
- Shelley King (Yasmeen Metcalfe)
- Channique Sterling-Brown (Dee-Dee Bailey)
Colson Smith, who has played Craig Tinker for 14 years, will exit in 2026. Sue Devaney’s Debbie Webster faces a long-term dementia storyline that writer Jonathan Harvey confirmed will run “well into 2027” before an eventual departure.
What Comes Next
Producer Kate Brooks has promised “lots of plans for Eva” but stopped short of guaranteeing a lengthy stay. The show continues balancing nostalgia with fresh faces as production pressures mount.
Gail Platt made a surprise Christmas 2025 cameo weeks after her exit, proving the door stays open for brief returns. Whether more former cast members follow Tyldesley and Thomas back to Weatherfield depends on storylines and budgets.
For now, Eva Price pours pints at the Rovers while the cobbles adjust to life without Eileen Grimshaw and Billy Mayhew. The ITV soap enters 2026 leaner but still bringing back familiar faces when the story demands it.
