A Coronation Street favourite has addressed his shock exit from the ITV soap after it emerged his final scenes had already aired without an announcement from show bosses
Coronation Street star Jack Carroll has broken his silence from his abrupt exit from the soap earlier this summer. The 27-year-old actor joined the ITV cast in 2023 as Bobby Crawford, the half nephew of Carla Connor and son of convict of Rob Donovan, and was last seen on screen in May this year heading off on holiday.
In June, viewers learned the character had left Weatherfield for good during a conversation with Lauren Bolton and Betsy Swain. Despite speculation that Jack wasn’t going to return to set, confirmation of the low-key departure left some viewers shocked, and the actor has now revealed how he feels about the way it went down.
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As well as saying he was “grateful” that Bobby wasn’t permanently killed off, the former Britain’s Got Talent star explained that he was actually happy to leave without any drama or scandal.
“That seems to be the trend in the way that they do exits now, it’s a bit more low key because it gives everybody a bit more flexibility if you need to arrange some pieces of the jigsaw in the future,” he told The Sun.
In June, a source told The Mirror that “the time has come” for Bobby to bid farewell, adding, “Actor Jack enjoyed his time on the soap, but it’s time to move on. Viewers won’t see the character exit the street as he’s already left, with Jack filming his final scenes some time ago.”
Bradford-born Jack first found fame as a comedian when he appeared on the seventh series of Britain’s Got Talent at 14, finishing up in second place.
He first appeared on Coronation Street in 2023, when his character Bobby came to stay with his aunt Carla, the half maternal sister of his dad Rob, who was previously convicted of the murder of Tina McIntyre.
Elaborating on his exit after 18 months, Jack, who has cerebral palsy, said he was excited to return to his comedy routes and put the spotlight back on disability in a positive manner.
He also praised the Coronation Street writers for “distilling down” the essence of his stand-up persona when he filmed his early scenes, adding: “That’s probably a good primer on what to expect as well, if you come and see me on the tour.”
Given his character is alive and well and was spared a gruesome end on the show, Jack also said he wouldn’t rule out a return, and said he was grateful that any future decisions hadn’t been taken off the table completely.
He added that the “circumstances would have to be right” and he couldn’t imagine a reason why he’d say no if the opportunity to step back onto the cobbles arose.
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