Tearful soap legend came out as gay to Gail Platt icon Helen Worth – and she gave a beautiful response
A soap writer has described the moment he came out as gay to Coronation Street’s Helen Worth, and we absolutely adore her response.
Daran Little is a BAFTA-winning and Emmy Award-nominated television writer.
He has written countless episodes of Coronation Street and EastEnders over the years and occasionally, he treats fans to anecdotes from certain scenes or characters of years gone by, particularly from his time on Coronation Street.
Following the news Helen Worth will leave her role as Gail Platt in Coronation Street later this year, Daran returned to X to share a wonderful story about the legendary actress.
Sharing a picture of himself alongside Helen, Daran wrote: ‘Want to know how wonderful Helen Worth is? She was the first person I came out to, sitting in tears in her dressing room. She held me tight and said “your adventures are just beginning”. Wishing her all my love on her next adventure.’
We love her.
At the start of June, it was confirmed that Helen will start filming her final storyline as Gail over the summer, with the departure expected to air later this year.
‘This year felt like the perfect time to leave the show after celebrating 50 years in the most wonderful job on the most wonderful street in the world. I made the decision at the start of the year and spoke to the producers who were very kind and understanding’, Helen said.
‘I have been truly blessed to have been given the most incredible scripts week in week out, and to have worked with fantastic actors, directors and a brilliant crew.
‘The past 50 years have flown by and I don’t think the fact that I am leaving has quite sunk in yet.’
ITV’s Executive Producer for continuing drama Iain Macleod also added: ‘The words “legend” and “icon” get used a lot these days but they genuinely do apply to Gail and to Helen Worth.
‘However, given her humility, I know Helen won’t thank me for saying so! In Helen’s hands, Gail has been a huge part of Coronation Street for five decades and at the centre of some of the most memorable storylines – often deriving from her catastrophically bad luck in choosing husbands!
‘Her ill-fated marriage to Richard Hillman was one of the most ground-breaking stories in soap history and cemented Gail’s already established status as one of the Corrie greats.
‘As the matriarch of the Platt clan, her affectionately prickly relationships with her kids and flighty mum Audrey epitomise what makes the show great: complicated family dynamics brought to life impeccably by Helen’s dramatic and comedic chops, alongside those of her fictional clan.’
Gail’s exit storyline has recently seen the return of Jesse Chadwick (John Thomson) to the cobbles.
It was revealed that the pair had embarked on a holiday romance in Thailand in 2021, and had kept in contact ever since. Now, they are determined to be a proper couple – but will it be smooth sailing?
This article was first published on June 6, 2024.
