Coronation Street spoilers follow from Friday night's double bill (October 22).
Coronation Street star Richard Hawley has left the show after a six-year stint in the role of Johnny Connor.
Friday night's episodes saw Johnny lose his life after bravely heading down into the storm drain to save his ex-wife Jenny (Sally Ann Matthews).
The pair found themselves trapped and helpless in the rising water together, which forced Shona Platt (Julia Goulding) to come to their rescue. Although Shona was able to get Jenny to safety, time ran out for Johnny in tragic scenes.
Here, Richard reflects on his emotional exit from Corrie.
How did your departure from the show come about?
"Iain [MacLeod], the producer, had known for some time that I was ready to go. I talked to him about it in the previous year and then all the plans and arrangements got stymied because of COVID and I was actually very happy to be working through that year. I was very fortunate.
"It could have been then that I stayed, but I live a long way from Coronation Street and I have done over six years and all the travelling back and forth was getting a bit much for me."
How did you feel about Johnny being killed off?
"Iain explained that the death in the big stunt was going to be Johnny. He outlined the story to me and I was absolutely overjoyed and knocked back by what he was planning, because for me it is the completion of a great love story, which is what Sally Ann and I had wanted. You can't get a truly great love story until it is over, until someone dies."
Before the storm hit, it looked like Johnny might be leaving in a taxi. Did you prefer a more tragic ending?
"Absolutely. The one thing that soap doesn't give you is a beginning, middle and end. By its very nature, it is continuous. It's only when you get the end put into place and you know what it is, that everything else falls into place.
"The rest of Johnny's story now makes sense. There is a really strong run of almost seven years of his story. A man trying to redress some of the past, create a future, love, settle down, atone for past mistakes, and change and live well.
"One of the things that was always important to me was that I wanted to explore the love and humanity of the character. I have been able to do that and particularly with this ending.
"Johnny and Jenny's story throughout this week had drama, heart and humour. For the character it completes a journey, a tough journey in many ways. In itself it is a real story, with action, humour, love, thrills and spills.
"I have been incredibly fortunate on the show. I did big difficult stories, some tragic stories. I have worked in Underworld and The Rovers and now I have an incredible exit. To come back would have been an anti-climax - leave them wanting more!"
Was it good to be able to work closely with Sally Ann again after so long with on-set restrictions?
"It was fantastic. It was a complete delight to be able to work closely. It has been a really difficult 18 months, constantly having to work at a distance and get that connection. Even not being able to work closely with the director.
"This week was very different to the daily process, much more filmic. The whole aspect of the stunt was such an experience. We do the everyday every day and to get the opportunity to do something so extraordinary raised everybody's game.
"There was so much creativity and talent around us and it was quite a shock to be able to work in that way again, but a good shock. I am glad now that by leaving I don't have to go back to working the old way again. I think I would have found that hard after being given that freedom for that short time."
How did you find filming the underwater stunts?
"I loved it. I am a pretty good swimmer. In my career I have done water-based stunts before. I did a theatre production once that took place in waist-high black water.
"When I was on The Vet years ago, I had to rescue a donkey from way down in a pit trapped in a Cornish coal mine full of water and now this, so I am becoming a bit of an expert in the old water stunts.
"I like being involved in stunts. I blew up a monastery once with Rutger Hauer. One of the great things about being an actor is the incredible things that you get to do, like filming in the mountains of Transylvania and shooting up restaurants in St Petersburg.
"So I have done quite a lot, but to be honest, this is a crowning element, and despite it being a stunt, it was all about the characters too. It was great to be at the centre of it. It isn't just the stunt, the whole thing has felt like a small film."
What was going through Johnny's mind in those final moments where he couldn't keep fighting?
"I did have to try and think about how he would feel at that moment. I don't know that he would give up, I just think the utter exhaustion got him and in that moment there was an inevitability.
"When the voice of Aidan cropped up in the darkness, there was an acceptance of where he is going and he just feels that he has done his best and has been honourable.
"He has made mistakes in his life and he has lost a lot. There is a sort of balancing out of the rights and wrongs of his life and he accepts it."
We saw that Johnny and Jenny still loved each other. What was it like to film those scenes?
"It was important to get across their love for each other. For some reason it just hadn't quite worked out for them. They are two wounded people, but they were each too wounded to help the other one.
"They would have loved to have been able to help each other in their relationship but ultimately they couldn't. Those final scenes resolve that in some way and give them that love story and that eternity."
What are your highlights of working on the show?
"I have had quite a lot of big and important stories that were challenging to do, so there is a lot to choose from. Getting the job and starting with Faye [Brooks, who played Kate] and Shayne [Ward, who played Aidan] was fantastic. Getting to work in Underworld, and working in the pub also meant I got to work with so many different people.
"Aidan's suicide was a hugely important story to tell and I am so proud of being a part of that. Also Carla's mental health issues, Johnny's struggles with his health, his secrets from the past and trying to make amends, which affected his mental health.
"There is a strong element of mental health issues running through that family. That is something that has always been close to my heart and something that I will be taking on in the future.
"I am also still working with Esme's Umbrella, who raise funds and awareness for Charles Bonnet Syndrome, following on from Johnny's story. The show has given me an awful lot.
"On the lighter side I absolutely loved filming Johnny and Jenny's wedding and arriving on a Harley Davidson!"
What will you miss most?
"I will miss the team and leaving is very emotional, but I will keep in touch with lots of people. As an actor, you get used to treating everything as 'just a job', but after almost seven years, it's not just a job. It is a job where you work closely with the same people every day and I will miss them. But that is an actor's life."
What is next for you?
"I am going to train and volunteer in a Forest School in Lymley Woods near where I live. We are going to be fundraising and creating a pilot project around play, mental health and nature, primarily for children to start with.
"I hope to make a documentary about that. We are going to spend a year getting it all set up. It is something that I am looking forward to immensely.
"I will be doing some acting work too along the way, but the Forest School Association is something I am very passionate about, particularly getting kids out and about again after the past 18 months."
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.
