Coronation Street has revealed one character's temporary exit, as they plan to leave for Italy in upcoming scenes, swapping the cobbles for some sunshine.
On Monday night's episode (January 15), long-running character Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall) revealed that his wife Fiz (Jennie McAlpine) is attending a course overseas in Italy and has invited him to join her. However, he's reluctant to go because he doesn't want to leave the girls for a whole fortnight.
Evelyn Plummer (Maureen Lipman) seems to have come to the rescue though, revealing she's moving back into No 9, so she might be there to support Tyrone and Fiz while they're temporarily away in Italy.
It turns out that was what she was planning, as she surprised Tyrone with a trip to Italy after he was confused about why his boss was annoyed at him for wanting to take time off work. Evelyn had booked the trip and Fiz was sorting out flights, with Evelyn moving in to take care of the girls.
Tyrone was naturally shocked but Evelyn insisted he deserved a break, and he was very thankful to his nan for taking on responsibilities at such short notice. With Tyrone off to Italy, this means he'll be out of action for a little while.
In November, Alan Halsall revealed he'd had surgery on his knee and was resting up, which explains his break from Coronation Street. His caption revealed: "Well, On Friday I underwent ACL reconstruction surgery. I have been told the surgery went really well. I know I have a long 9-12 months of rehabilitation ahead of me but I’m sure with the support of family & friends I’ll get there."
Speaking in a statement at the time, a spokeswoman said Tyrone would be on screen for the rest of the 2023 but would then disappear in early 2024 while he recovers.
She explained: "Alan will be on screen in the coming weeks as we film two months ahead, and then he'll be taking a short break whilst he recovers."
So timing-wise, it's looking like this is Tyrone's temporary exit, but he will be back on our screens playing the much-loved character once he's recovered from surgery. Alan has played the role of Tyrone since 1998, and it doesn't look like he's stopping any time soon!
Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, on ITV1 and ITVX.
