When exits from soaps are announced, big stunts and tragic deaths often come to mind. But a taxi out of Weatherfield is usually the safest way to exit the cobbles - especially if you want the option to return at a later date.
And there are many current Coronation Street stars who have once left the soap - some more than once - and are now back on our screens multiple times a week.
The likes of Jenny Connor and Nick Tilsley have all waved goodbye to the street at one point or another, as have Sarah Barlow and Spider Nugent.
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And with that in mind, the Manchester Evening News has taken a look back at some of the current Corrie stars who have previously left the famous cobbles before coming back, some even 20 years later.
Sarah Barlow
Sarah Barlow - nee Platt - has been played by Tina O'Brien since 1999 when the actress was recast in the role of the then-12-year-old when she was 16.
Over the years she has faced a whole host of hard-hitting storylines from giving birth to her first child, Bethany, at 13 and being kidnapped alongside her family by her psychotic stepfather Richard Hillman - to suffering child loss when her son, Billy, died shortly after his birth, to being attacked by Callum Logan and witnessing him be killed by sister-in-law Kylie.
But Tina did take a break from the role of Sarah in 2007. Her first role after leaving the cobbles was in the Manchester Opera House' s pantomime where she played the title character of Cinderella. Her first television role post-Corrie was in the ITV police television drama Blue Murder. In 2010, she then landed a role in the sixth series of the BBC school drama Waterloo Road as Bex Fisher.
And after appearing in other roles, Tina returned to Corrie 2015 after Sarah's daughter Bethany Platt returned to Weatherfield without her permission.
Spider Nugent
Geoffrey Nugent - or should we say Spider - returned to the cobbles in 2021 with a secret. It was announced back in April 2021 that Martin Hancock would be reprising the role 25 years after making his debut - and 19 years after his last appearance in the ITV soap.
The actor, who made his on-screen return in June, played as Emily Bishop's eco-warrior nephew between 1997 and 2003 and is probably best remembered for being the on/off boyfriend of Toyah Battersby. Spider left the famous street in 2003, when he headed to London to start afresh with Toyah. However, they later separated with Spider moving to Peru, while after a failed marriage, Toyah returned to be with her family in 2016.
But despite being away from Weatherfield for almost two decades, Spider appears to have slipped back into life on the street and even rekindled his relationship with Toyah following the death of her husband, Imran Habeeb. And while still taking part in protests, he was hiding the fact that he was working undercover for the police until the truth was revealed to his neighbours earlier this year.
Toyah Habeeb
Toyah Habeeb - nee Battersby - is another character to have come, gone and come back again to Weatherfield. Georgia Taylor made her debut in the ITV soap as Toyah at just 17-years-old back in 1997 along with Janice and Les Battersby and Les's daughter Leanne when it was announced the 'family from hell' were to be introduced to the hit soap to draw up some trouble.
Soon into her arrival in Weatherfield, Toyah fell for eco-warrior Spider Nugent but when he quit his job at the DSS and went to India, Toyah stayed behind. Georgia's character was also at the centre of a harrowing storyline when she was raped by former neighbour Phil Simmonds.
Toyah left the Street in 2003 after finding out that her boyfriend John Arnley had cheated on her with her best friend Maria Sutherland leading Georgia to take on a few other acting roles. The actress, from Wigan, joined the cast of Casualty as doctor Ruth Winters in 2007 and she was a series regular until 2011. She also made appearances in Where the Heart is, Law and Order: UK and Life on Mars.
In 2005 she took to the stage at the Royal Court in London alongside Helen Baxendale for The Woman Before along with performing in Christmas is Miles Away at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester and Bush Theatre, London.
Then, in September 2016 after a 13-year absence, Toyah's comeback to the cobbles was announced and she made an explosive return at Christmas when it was revealed that she had left her husband of five years Toby Chapman for Peter Barlow, Leanne's ex-husband.
Tracy Barlow
Tracy Barlow, or should we say Tracy McDonald as she's married to Steve, first arrived in Weatherfield when she born on-screen in an episode in January 1977.
It wasn't until 2002 that the current actress Kate Ford picked up the role of the divisive character following on from actresses Christabel Finch, Holly Chamarette and Dawn Acton.
The 46-year-old, from Salford, has been in the role ever since and in those 20 years has faced a whole host of storylines from killing her ex Charlie Stubbs in cold blood to drugging Roy Cropper and faking they had slept together before finding out she was pregnant after her one-night-stand with Steve McDonald.
However, Kate has left and returned to the soap in those two decades. She first waved goodbye to the cobbles in 2007 when Tracy was ound guilty to killing Charlie and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 15 years before parole. The star then reprised the role for a brief stint from late May to early June 2010 when Tracy was given day release to attend her grandmother Blanche Hunt's funeral.
She then returned full-time from 24 December 2010 when Tracy returned to the street when she told the Barlows that the expert who handled the forensic evidence for her trial falsified his qualifications so she has been released on bail, pending a retrial. Tracy was then found not guilty at the retrial, owing to the unreliability of forensic evidence.
Peter Barlow
Peter Barlow made his debut on the cobbles over five decades ago and has been played by a record SEVEN actors in that time, with the character facing a whole host of storylines including bigamy, alcoholism, a custody battle, doomed love affairs and being framed for the murder of his lover Tina.
It wasn't until 2000 that current actor Chris Gascoyne made his first appearance in the role, during the 40th anniversary live episode. He then left the role in 2003 when Peter moved back to Portsmouth after his bigamy was uncovered after he married Rovers barmaid Shelley Unwin and florist Lucy Richards.
He returned in 2007 for a brief stint during which time Tracy killed Charlie and ex Lucy died from ovarian cancer and Peter is given custody of a then-five-year-old Simon. Chris then reprsied the role full-time in 2008.
But in January 2014 it was confirmed that Chris would be leaving once again, but the following year he did reprise the role for two episodes for the funeral of Deirdre Barlow, played by Anne Kirkbride. It was then revealed in 2016 that Peter would be making a return to Weatherfield with Chris remaining in the role ever since.
Leanne Battersby
Leanne Battersby is a familiar face of Coronation Street. The character arrived to the cobbles in 1997, played by Jane Danson, when it was announced the 'family from hell' were to be introduced to the hit soap to draw up some trouble.
Leanne is played by actress Jane Danson - who left the show in 2000 not long after the harrowing storyline that saw her character become a drug addict. She returned again in 2004, where she went on to marry Peter Barlow and then Nick Tilsley for the second time, but the couple parted again before getting back together years later.
Nick Tilsley
Nick Tilsley, the son of Gail Platt and Brian Tilsley was born off-screen on New Year's Eve in December 1980. He made his first appearance on January 1981 when he was played from a baby by Warren Jackson until 1996 before later being played by actor and singer Adam Rickitt.
The role of Nick was recast again in 2009, with Ben Price taking over the role, as Adam was instead appearing in the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street as Kieran Mitchell. After Ben took over the role, Nick faced a whole host of big storylines from wanting to marry Leanne Battersby for several years until 2013 as Leanne initially chose Peter Barlow over him, to thinking he was the father of his sister-in-law Kylie's unborn child after they slept together and being left in a coma following a car accident after brother David found out.
He then left the soap in 2017 due to personal reasons as he wanted to spend more time with his actress wife Alexandra Wheeler and their children. However, in Apriil 2018, it was announced that Ben would reprise his role as Nick, and he returned in October that year after Leanne was involved in a car accident.
Steve McDonald
Steve McDonald first hit the Corrie cobbles more than 30 years ago as part of the McDonald clan in 1989 played by Simon Gregson who was just 15-years-old at the time.
The former tearaway has had his fair share of dodgy dealings, but has become more of a comedic character over the years. His misjudgments could also explain why he's remarried so many times on the soap - having got hitched seven times to five different women.
But after 14 years, in Setember 2015, Simon announced a break due to personal reasons and Steve was off-screen from November 2015 to April 2016 after he went to stay with his brother Andy in Spain but ended up staying longer than planned.
Jenny Connor
Jenny Connor, played by Sally Ann Matthews, was Rita Fairclough's foster daughter, and the daughter of Alan Bradley. She arrived on the cobbles when she came to live with Rita in 1986, just after her mother Pat's death in a road accident.
And she caused no end of trouble on the street before in 1990 she was thrown off her Environmental Studies course at Manchester Polytechnic due to her poor attendance record and early the following year she left Weatherfield to live with a married dentist, Robert Weston.
Shen then visited the area in 1993, but it wasn't until 2015 that Jenny officially returned to the cobbles again, still played by Sally Ann, and two years after her four-year-old son Tom drowned in a paddling pool.
And while dating Kevin Webster, she snatched Kevin's son Jack in order to keep him safe and nearly threw herself off a balcony. She was sectioned and later returned to the street in 2016 where she has remained ever since.
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