Overview

• Sally Ann Matthews confirmed she will leave Coronation Street after playing Jenny Connor full-time since 2015, having first appeared in 1986.
• She said on Instagram that an initial five-month return transformed into a decade on the cobbles and that she is ready to seek new creative challenges.
• An ITV spokesperson declined to provide additional comment and producers have not revealed how Jenny’s exit will be scripted.
• Viewers described themselves as “gutted” and “heartbroken” in social-media responses while fellow actors lauded Matthews’s performance and legacy.
• Matthews’s departure follows other long-serving cast exits such as Shelley King, Charlotte Jordan and Colson Smith, marking a significant overhaul of the show’s core ensemble.