Helen Worth sends farewell message to Coronation Street viewers

Following tonight’s episode that had everything from the vision of Richard Hillman singing Blue Christmas to Gail letting every one of her children know they’re her favourite Helen Worth has departed Coronation Street for the final time… 

Now her last scenes from The Street have aired Helen Worth has sent a heartfelt farewell message to the millions of fans who have shared her 50 year journey playing Gail. Viewers saw Gail get her Christmas Day happy ending in this evening’s emotional final episode, as she married Jesse Chadwick and bid farewell to her family and friends.

Having woken from a nightmare, where her dead serial killer former husband Richard Hillman paid her a visit and tried to stop her marrying Jesse, Gail decided she wanted nothing more than to be Mrs Chadwick and swap Weatherfield for a new life in France.

For Helen it marked the end of half a century playing the much loved and often married Gail, and the tears from her on screen family were real as she was driven away down the cobbles. As the titles rolled fans were given an extra treat as Helen said her final farewell on the show’s social media platforms.

Sitting in the Platt’s living room she said: “Hello, all of you. It’s wonderful to have this opportunity to say, ‘ta ta!’ It’s been a fabulous fifty years, and I just wanted to thank all of you, some of you who may have been watching for fifty years. Is there anybody? And those of you who’ve been watching for a few years. Thank you.

“Thanks for coming on the journey with me. I’ve had a wonderful time. I’ve loved it all. All the stories, and of course, working with the wonderful Platts, which, for me, is what it’s all about. And there’ll be more Platt stories, and I hope you’ll be watching.

“Lots of love and thanks from me. Bye.”

Helen first appeared on the cobbles on July 29, 1974, and is the second longest-serving continuous cast member after Bill Roache, who has played Ken since the show’s first episode on December 9, 1960. Gail holds the record for the woman with most marriages on the show, having tied the knot a total of seven times. Steve McDonald has the honour for the males.

In 1979, she wed Brian Tilsley (Christopher Quinten) and had Nick (Ben Price) and Sarah Louise (Tina O’Brien) with him; they divorced in 1987 but remarried the following year. He was tragically killed in 1989 after being stabbed outside a nightclub. She later had a son, David (Jack P. Shepherd), with second husband Martin Platt (Sean Wilson). Gail and Martin’s marriage came to an end due to his infidelity with a nursing colleague. Gail later married Richard Hillman, who attempted to kill her family after committing two murders on the street in 2003.

In 2010, she married Joe McIntyre (Reece Dinsdale), but the union ended tragically when he died in a boating accident while attempting to fake his own death for insurance purposes. Later, in 2015, she married Michael Rodwell (Les Dennis), but their happiness was short-lived as he passed away from a heart attack just a year later and as we’ve seen this evening Gail finally settles for a Villa in the south of France with Jessie Chadwick.

Catch up with Coronation Street on ITVX or the STV Player (Scotland).

1974: Granada issue the first photo of ‘Gail’ billed as a friend of Trisha Hopkins

Helen Worth as Gail Potter

Gail in her more feisty era…

Granada: Coronation Street Martin has a shock in store for Gail and Phyllis

1988: Gail is left bemused by mother Audrey’s recent actives involving Canada

Before Roy’s Rolls: Jim’s Café was the heart of greasy gossip with Gail and Alma

1979: Ivy and Gail have one of their many run-ins. Who could forget that classic exchange: Ivy: “May God forgive you Gail!” Gail: “Well he might but you never will…!”

Golden Days: Gail with Elise and Suzie / Granada / ITV

1979: Gail’s mother Audrey arrives in Weatherfield

More pictures on the next page…