Suranne Jones has said she would consider returning to Coronation Street, more than two decades after leaving.
Jones made her debut on the cobbles as Karen McDonald in 2000, and has enjoyed a successful acting career since leaving the ITV soap in 2004.
Ahead of her Netflix debut in new political thriller Hostage, Jones has revealed she would respond positively if soap bosses asked her to reprise the role of Karen.
“If they asked, ‘Would you come and do an episode of Coronation Street?’ I’d say, ‘Why not?’ she told The Times.
“If you had asked me two years after I left the show, I’d have said, ‘Absolutely not. I’m going to do all these things.’ But now it’s 21 years ago, it might be fun.”
After leaving Corrie, Jones started collaborating with writer Sally Wainwright, appearing in Scott & Baileyand Gentlemen Jack, for which she was Bafta nominated.
Jones received another Bafta nomination for her role in Mike Bartlett’s Doctor Foster, and received acclaim for her performances in Lennie James series Save Me and BBC drama Vigil.
However, one role Jones does not want to add to her CV is the lead in BBC’s long-running sci-fi show Doctor Who.
“I would be scared to play the Doctor,” she admitted. “I thought Ncuti Gatwa did a brilliant job. That’s a lot to live up to. It’s a pressurised job.”
Jones, who made a guest appearance in 2011 episode “The Doctor’s Wife”, said she “loved” the era of Jodie Whittaker, who became the first woman to play the Time Lord in 2017.
“Watching some of her episodes with my son, I’m like, ‘Wow, that takes a lot.’ So I’d be a bit frightened of it.”
Jones’ return would go down well with Corrie fans who have seen the soap go through plenty of change in the last year due to a series of departures, including Gail Platt star Helen Worth.
The latest actor to announce their decision to leave the soap after decades on screen is Sally Ann Matthews, known for playing the fiery Rovers Return landlady Jenny Connor.
The 54-year-old said in a post shared on Friday (1 August) that it was “time” to play different roles – ones that she “always hoped I would when I’d grown up”.
Matthews made her debut on the soap in 1986 as Alan Bradley’s tearaway daughter, before leaving in 1991. She made a shock return in 2016, which was only meant to last for a matter of months, but ended up staying as a central character in the show for another decade.
Matthews’ exit follows a string of central character departures, with Charlotte Jordan, who played her onscreen step daughter Daisy Midgeley, Shelley King, who played Yasmeen Metcalfe and Colson Smith, who played Craig Tinker, all leaving the soap earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Debbie Webster actor Sue Devaney will leave the series in 2027. Her character has been diagnosed with early onset dementia and the storyline will eventually lead to her exit.