Coronation Streets Jack James Ryan explains surprise Jacob Hay exit on ITV soap

2023-01-14

Coronation Street fans were left shocked on Friday (January 13) when fan-favourite character Jacob Hay, played by actor Jack James Ryan, made a surprise departure from the popular ITV soap.

The shocking scenes saw Jacob leave the cobbles after his father, Damon, bullied him out of town, with Jacob stopping to dump girlfriend Amy Barlow, before getting in a cab and leaving for good.

Opening up about his surprise decision to leave the long-running soap, Jacob star Jack told press: "It was a really hard decision, because I love the character so much.

"But I was coming up to that two-year mark on the show and the conversations upstairs were very much about looking at the long haul of what Jacob was going to do and who he was going to be on the Street with.

"Of course, that was incredibly humbling. Those types of conversation are just amazing. But I'm still young and there's so much stuff that I want to go and do. I felt, in a way, that I'd come and done what I intended to do."

Continuing, Jack added that he'd crossed almost everything off on "Corrie bingo", saying: "We talk about the 'Corrie bingo card', where you tick off things that you've done.

"I've played the villain, I've had my redemption arc, I've punched Steve McDonald, I went to prison, and I even moved into Number 1 Coronation Street with Ken Barlow. You can't get much better than that!

"Apart from a wedding and the tram crash, I feel like I've done it all in my two years. It felt like the right time to leave the show."

Discussing a potential return in the future, Jack added that he'd never say never, adding: "David Proud, a fantastic writer on the show, said to me: 'The best time to bring a character back is when they're going to cause the most damage'."

Theorising on how Jacob could make a dramatic return, the actor said: "I had a daydream that in five years' time when Amy's settled down, she's found the man that she really loves, they're just about to get married and then Jacob bursts through the door and goes: 'I object!'

"I think it would be cool for him to get that opportunity to clear his name, because he does deserve it."

Elsewhere in Weatherfield, Stephen Reid is set to claim a second victim in a desperate attempt to cover up his first killing.

Viewers will recall that Stephen murdered Leo Thompkins last year and only recently tried to kill the latter's father, Teddy, in hospital after he was hit by a speeding van.

And now new spoilers have revealed that Stephen is set to kill again and will go through with his plan to kill Teddy in a bid to stop him uncovering the truth.

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