A CORONATION Street newbie has been written out of his current soap to make way for his steamy Weatherfield storyline.
The iconic ITV Cobbles’ latest arrival, 40, will swiftly see sparks fly with Todd Grimshaw after he arrives for his job as a scaffolder.
The screen star, who was raised in Bolton, gushed over the “absolute privilege” of bagging a role on the Manchester-based soap, which was. family favourite with his grandma Edith.
Yet despite the Downton Abbey movie alum hailing his Coronation Street debut as a “psychedelic dream” he has had to juggle a spot on another soap, too.
The Lancashire-born lad, 40, joined The Archers back in 2013 and plays PS Harrison Burns.
Yet the BBC Radio 4 soap’s writers have temporarily penned him out of the script and he told The Mirror: “I am a Lancashire man, and the writers sent my character on secondment to Yorkshire, which I think they thought was hilarious!
“I am currently on a special mission with the ability to pop back from time to time and check in.
“What an honour in an actor’s life it is to be a part of two seminal institutions – Corrie and The Archers.”
CORRIE DEBUT
The Archers set was, ironically, where he first met Todd actor Gareth Pierce.
Coronation Street star accidentally lets slip massive spoiler in backstage snap
Talking about reuniting in a steamy storyline – which kicks off this week – he told the same publication: “I’d snog him for free!
“It’s an absolute privilege to be working on Corrie that is on an elite level when it comes to acting. I hold it in such high esteem.”
Teasing the pair’s upcoming storyline he added to The Mirror: “Todd’s eye has been taken by Theo but it takes him a little longer!
“The journey of true love never did run smoothly and it’s like a perfect stew – you need all the right ingredients but if you over salt it, you are in terrible trouble.
“You need to let it simmer.”
James’ Theo is one of a trio of new characters to shake up the cobbles in a series of explosive storylines.
His stint on the Cobbles begins when he gets on the wrong side of both Julie (Katy Cavanagh) and George (Tony Maudsley).
However, Todd helps him to patch things up with the locals.
Previously, addressing his new character, James said: “I think Theo is a good guy, he comes in with the best of intentions, as most people do, but he may upset some people with his behaviour.”
Announced alongside James on the Corrie new arrivals list is actor Jonathan Howard, who will be taking on the role of Carl Webster.
Carl is the younger half-brother to Kevin (Michael Le Vell) and Debbie (Sue Devaney) – who has yet to appear on the cobbles.
Rounding out the new arrivals is Jason Callender, who is taking over the role of James Bailey.
The character was previously played by Nathan Graham from 2019 to 2022.
𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 “𝑭𝒂𝒏𝒑𝒂𝒈𝒆 & 𝑾𝒆𝒃𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒆: 𝒇𝙞𝒍𝙢𝒔𝙥𝒐𝙞𝒍𝙚𝒓𝙨.𝙞𝒏𝙛𝒐” 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧-𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐞𝐬.
