The real life of Helen Worth, the Gail Platt actress from Coronation Street

Later this year, Coronation Street will see the end of an era as Gail Platt is set to leave Weatherfield in an “emotional” departure for the popular character.

Actress Helen Worth recently announced the difficult decision to step down from her role in the ITV soap as she celebrates a major milestone. She will celebrate her golden anniversary on the show next month (July), but in late 2024, viewers will see Helen and Gail say goodbye to Weatherfield in a major storyline for the Platt family.

It has been confirmed that the 73-year-old will begin filming her exit story next month and the emotional scenes will be seen on screen later this year.

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Speaking about her impending exit, Helen said: “This year seemed 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 earlier this year and spoke to the producers who were very kind and understanding.

“I’ve been so lucky to be given the most incredible scripts week after week and to work with fantastic actors, directors and a brilliant crew. The last 50 years have flown by and I don’t think I’ve even fully processed the fact that I’m leaving.”

The acting legend joined the ITV soap in 1979 at the age of 23, 14 years after viewers first met the people of Weatherfield. She was originally set to play a very minor role, a friend of the more established character Tricia Hopkins, who was introduced as part of a new family.

The Hopkins family barely had any impact on the show, and after she was written out of the series, Gail went on to become one of the most popular and well-known characters in the show’s history. The Platt matriarch has endured a number of failed love affairs over the years, prison stints, near-death experiences, drama with her children, and recently found out her brother was a serial killer.

Helen completed her career at drama school and went on to work in repertory theatre, including a year with the BBC Radio Repertory Company. She had uncredited supporting roles in the films Oliver! and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and appeared on television in the Doctor Who story Colony in Space, The Doctors, Helen: A Woman of Today, Within These Walls and The Carnforth Practice.

However, her first known role was in Z-Cars, a police drama on BBC One, where she played the role of Maisie in one episode. At the time, however, she was known as Helen Wiggleworth. And Helen Worth is technically not her real name – she was born Cathryn Helen Wigglesworth – but apparently she never explained the reason for the change.

As for Corrie, Helen is a mainstay in the cast of the ITV soap and was honoured by ITV in 2014 with a 30-minute documentary celebrating her 40 years on the ITV series, with a one-off special entitled Gail & Me. At the time, the TV icon said she never planned to leave the road as she was happy with Gail’s never-ending dramas and loved her job.

And last year she beamed with joy when she was made an MBE by the Prince of Wales. In January she swapped the famous cobbles of Coronation Street for Windsor Castle and heaped praise on Prince William. Helen told the PA news agency: “He (William) was so nice, so easy going. He asked all the right questions. He was very flattering.”

She added: “It’s just a wonderful feeling. To receive an MBE is very special. But to receive it in this beautiful building and to be able to walk through and look at all these pictures and tapestries. I love castles and houses from history and so for me to come here today is just wonderful.”

And while her life off-screen hasn’t been quite as dramatic, there have been ups and downs too, from a childhood loss to unfaithful marriages. In her life off-camera, Helen has spoken about her own two marriages – the first to the late Michael Angelis and the second to teacher Trevor Dawson.

The soap star married Liverpool-born narrator Michael, who became known as the voice of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, in 1991 after they met years earlier in the 1970s.

But just a few years after the wedding, the couple ran into trouble after he had an affair in 1995 and revealed his infidelity to his wife after the press found out. Although Helen forgave Michael, she divorced him in 2001 when it was revealed that the star had another affair with model Jennifer Khalastchi – who he married the same year.

Speaking to the Mirror at the time of her heartbreaking split from Michael, who died in May 2020 aged 76, Helen said: “Nothing can prepare you for the day your husband sits you down and tells you he’s having an affair.”

“My marriage meant everything to me. It was the foundation on which everything else was built. I was with Michael for almost half my life. I never thought we wouldn’t grow old together.”

More than a decade after her divorce, Helen married Trevor in 2013 and admits it was “love at first sight” with the “stunning” London-based music teacher. Speaking to her former co-star Nigel Havers in a segment of This Morning in 2021, she said: “I met Trevor about 10 years ago and I just thank my lucky stars.

“He’s just gorgeous.” And Trevor has already told how she managed to woo him. “Cooking is Helen’s speciality. I take care of the consumption. She’s really good.” But Trevor, who is seven years younger than Helen, was already a fan of the star and regularly saw her character on screen.

“We watch the show together. I’ve been a fan for a number of years. I always watched it with my mum. Of course Gail was my favourite,” he told The Mirror in 2016. The couple actually kept their relationship secret for more than a year before marrying in 2012 in front of many of their Corrie co-stars.

The newlyweds were greeted by nearly 200 well-wishers who cheered as they left the ceremony. Helen told her guests at the time: “It was the most amazing day, it exceeded all expectations. We are thrilled that so many of our friends and family were able to be here to celebrate with us.”

Although Helen lived in London for many years, she grew up in Morecambe, Lancashire. At the age of eight, her parents took in an eleven-year-old foreign student from Ghana who stayed with the family for eight years.

He left home shortly after Helen’s mother was killed in a tragic hit-and-run accident. The actress was only 20 at the time and spoke of her despair that her mother never got to see her in the iconic role of Gail. The Daily Star reports that Helen said in a previous interview: “The only person I really wanted to tell when I got the role of Gail was my mum.”

“She would have been so excited. More excited than I was. She was there the whole time – at dance classes, holding my hand before competitions, putting on her best costume to take me to the auditions in London. But when I finally made it, she wasn’t there to share it with me. I’ve never missed her more.”