Back to the Street

Craig making his Corrie return... finally.

4 May, 2012

Fans of Craig Charles who like to get their fix from Coronation Street whenever Red Dwarf isn't onscreen might have been forgiven for getting a bit worried that, with Series X now in the can, he still hadn't made his comeback on the cobbles of Weatherfield.

Craig was originally given a generous three-month break by the Corrie producers in order to spend some time on K stage in Shepperton - but his character, the popular taxi driver Lloyd Mullaney, was written out with such apparent finality that many viewers believed he'd left the series for good.

In fact, the writers themselves initially struggled to come up with a good reason to bring him back - a problem they've now apparently solved, as it's been reported in The Mirror that Craig has gone back up North to begin shooting his comeback scenes - and that his return, which will see him go toe-to-toe with real-life mate (and Back to Earth guest star) Simon Gregson, will be explosive.

"There were all kinds of rumours flying around that Craig wasn't coming back at all," the old standby of an unnamed "source" told the paper. "But it seems he is back with a bang. Craig is well liked by the production crew and has some great banter with them, so he has been missed. It's a relief and joy that he is back."

Which is all very nice to hear. Episodes of Corrie are generally filmed six to eight weeks in advance, so Craig's first new scenes should start appearing some time in June. Rumours that Lloyd will make his return in Carbug, however, are as yet unfounded...

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