Coronation Street spoilers follow.
Coronation Street reintroduces the character of Max Turner in Thursday night's episode (September 16), but he's looking a little different.
The latest visit to Weatherfield sees show newcomer Paddy Bever make his first appearance in the role of Max, who'll receive more focus in the coming weeks as a new storyline begins.
Missed the news of the recast and need to get up to speed on what's going on? Here's a quick recap on Soapland's latest switcheroo.
Why has Max Turner been recast in Coronation Street?
Coronation Street bosses announced earlier this month that the character of Max had been recast. Harry McDermott had previously played the role since 2010, taking on some big storylines over the years including Max's ADHD diagnosis and the arrival of his biological father Callum Logan.
Harry made his final appearance as Max in last year's Christmas episode, which saw David and Shona Platt recreate their wedding in heartwarming scenes. Prior to that, he'd had a six-month period off screen, as many of Corrie's younger cast weren't included in the post-COVID episodes.
This year, other younger characters have started to feature in Corrie again, but we hadn't seen Max involved in the Platt family dramas... until now.
A show source told Digital Spy that the decision to recast Max was made due to more mature storylines planned for the character this year. As most soap fans will know, this is common practice in the genre as younger characters start to grow up.
An official statement from the show added: "We have all watched Harry grow up alongside Max Turner for the past 11 years and we want to thank him for everything he has brought to the character.
"It is always a difficult decision to recast a role and we look forward to following Harry's career as he continues with his acting studies and explores other opportunities. We wish him every success for the future."
The show also confirmed that Paddy Bever, who has taken over the role of Max, had already started filming and would appear on screen soon.
Coronation Street spoilers – what's next for Max?
Thursday's hour-long edition of Corrie sets up a conflict that will begin to escalate in upcoming episodes.
As Daniel Osbourne gets to work on his teaching placement, Max plays up for him in class and Daniel quickly realises that this new job isn't going to be easy.
Daniel soon reports back to David that Max isn't reaching his full potential and is too busy trying to impress his other classmates. When confronted by David, an unapologetic Max storms off.
In Friday's double bill (September 17), Daniel takes action over Max's poor behaviour, giving him detention for failing to hand in some homework.
David suggests to Daniel that Max could do with some extra tuition, but Daniel isn't keen on spending any more time with the troublesome schoolboy and turns the opportunity down.
While Daniel currently has David's support, this begins to change next week when David starts to believe that Max's disapproving teacher is the real problem.
When Max falsely tells David that he gets less homework than the other kids because of his ADHD, Daniel mocks David for believing this lie.
David is also irked when he finds out that Daniel has offered to give Summer Spellman tuition, which leads to claims of favouritism after he'd previously refused to help Max.
David also jumps to Max's defence when Daniel accuses him of stealing his wallet without any evidence.
Shona suspects that Max is likely to be guilty, but Daisy advises Daniel that he's risking his career by accusing one of his students without any proof.
With trouble brewing at school and at home, it seems that the new-look Max will be keeping everyone busy in the months ahead.
Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7.30pm and 8.30pm.
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Daniel has been writing about soaps on Digital Spy since 2004 and took over as Soaps Editor in 2010.
He has interviewed hundreds of soap stars over the years, from Bill Roache to Lacey Turner, and regularly visits the sets of Coronation Street, EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks for behind-the-scenes trips and press events.
He has served as an awards judge on numerous occasions for the likes of the BAFTA TV Awards, RTS Programme Awards and British Soap Awards. In 2020, he was Highly Commended for Best Section Editor at the BSME Awards.
