CORRIE legend Helen Worth has entered her 50th anniversary, making her the second longest-serving cobbles star after Bill Roache.
The actress, 73, who has played Gail Platt since 1974, has agreed a new one-year deal, believed to be worth around £250,000.
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Coronation Street legend Helen Worth has signed a lucrative one-year deal to help the soap weather its recent ‘tough period’
Helen, who was awarded an MBE last year, is believed to be paid around £2,500 per episode.
It comes after ITV’s flagship soap failed to make the top ten most watched shows on Christmas Day.
A source close to the star said: “Helen is committed to the soap and is determined to help her through the rocky patch. She is connected to her character and is excited about her upcoming storylines for the coming year. He still enjoys his job and seeing his cast and crew every day.”
Only Bill, who plays Ken Barlow, has been on the show longer. She first appeared as Gail Potter, and her character has been married six times – each husband either died, cheated or turned out to be a serial killer.
Over the decades, the Platts have become a staple of the show, with mum Audrey running the salon, while son David and daughter Sarah are often in the main plots.
However, the Christmas viewing figure of 2.6 million was down by almost three-quarters from last decade.
Meanwhile, several regulars drop out, including Lisa George (Beth Tinker), Chris Gascoyne (Peter Barlow), Alex Bain (Simon Barlow) and Peter Ash (Paul Foreman).
Charlie Lawson, who played Jim McDonald from 1989 to 2018, strongly condemned his “s***e awakened conspiracies”.
He told The Sun on Sunday: “There are at least two long-term cast members who are not happy. There is a feeling that there are too many episodes and that the production team does not have time to pay attention to the details as before. Viewers are turned off by too many young stories.”
ITV declined to comment.
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