comeback
Coronation Street icon in surprise soap return 26 years after heartbreaking exit from cobbles
The star is exchanging Weatherfield for a different soap setting
A CORONATION Street legend is set to make a return to acting after ten years.
Phil Middlemiss, 60, was a Corrie mainstay in the 1990s and will soon be appearing in another popular soap.
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His character Des Barnes arrived on the famed cobbles as a newlywed alongside on-screen wife Steph, played by Amelia Bullmore.
Although the Steph character left the regular cast in 1991, Des enjoyed a longer stint with the bookmaker remarrying to Natalie Horrocks (Denise Welch) in 1998.
Love rat Des met a tragic and untimely end by intervening to stop a group of men from attacking his stepson, Tony Horrocks (Lee Warburton).
Having been knocked unconscious, Des appeared to be recovering in hospital only to die from a heart attack.
More on Phil Middlemiss
In the real world, actor Phil is set to take on a new role, a decade after his last TV appearance.
Swapping Weatherfield for Letherbridge, he will be stepping into another soap, popular BBC series Doctors, taking on the role of DI Travis Lennox.
As it happens, his most recent on-screen acting role prior was also in an episode of Doctors.
The performer made an appearance as character Frank Pickard in a 2014 episode.
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In the years after leaving Coronation Street, Phil previously starred in fellow ITV series Where the Heart Is from 2000 to 2006, where he played David Buckley.
Fellow soap actors who also appeared throughout Where the Heart Is include fellow Corrie alum Sarah Lancashire and current Emmerdale actress Lesley Dunlop.
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Phil also featured as himself in shows including Blankety Blank and Noel’s House Party.
In 2010, he triumphed in an episode of Celebrity Come Dine With Me, which also featured fellow former Coronation Street stars Julie Goodyear, Ken Morley and Tupele Dorgu.
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Two years later, the actor the actor faced bankruptcy after a film he had poured his life-saving into in 2008 failed to take off due to the financial crisis.
It forced Phil to take money from family and friends as he told the : "It was partly-funded by myself but I didn’t have the money to fund the rest of the film.
"Filming came to a grinding halt. It was nearly three-quarters of the way along the line. It has been a difficult time. Three-and-a-half years is a long time to fund myself without any income.
" I have had to get money from family and friends."
Coronation Street's shock exits 2024
Corrie has said goodbye to several cast members this year. Let's break down who's left the famous soap:
Eliza Woodrow (Savannah Kunyo) has said farewell to Corrie to start a new life in Germany.
The youngster moved to live with her dad Dom Everett, who went back on the £10,000 bribe Eliza's grandfather Stu had offered to keep him out of her life.
Paul Foreman will bow out of the soap this summer when he loses his fight with motor neurone disease (MND) in tragic scenes.
After being diagnosed last year, the fan favourite, portrayed by Peter Ash, was devastated to learn he only had months left to live.
Viewers know he is planning to take his own life to end his suffering.
Summer Spellman (Harriet Bibby) departed the cobbles after being offered the opportunity of a lifetime to study in America.
Though she struggled to decide with her stepdad Paul’s impending death from MND, she was convinced she had to live her life to the full.
Simon Barlow (Alex Bain) has struggled with the sudden departure of his father Peter from the cobbles.
The Weatherfield legend left his family and loved ones behind on Boxing Day, 2023, when his wife Carla Connor encouraged him to travel around the world with a friend.
Simon's been on a downward spiral ever since and his exit could end in tragedy.
Alya Nazir is set to leave the cobbles as actress Sair Khan prepares to go on maternity leave ahead of the birth of her first child.
It looks likely she'll be heading to Dublin after securing a lucrative new job, leaving her colleague and fling Adam Barlow behind.
Show stalwart Eileen Grimshaw is taking a break to star in the Sister Act The Musical UK tour.
She's had to leave the Street immediately after her son Jason broke his back after falling off a moped in Asia. She will be back filming in May once her dates on the tour come to an end.
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