Coronation Street star Alex Bain will leave the ITV soap next week after 16 years playing Simon Barlow.
The character leaves the soap in emotional scenes, with viewers expected to see Simon off as he leaves Weatherfield for good.
His departure, which was first announced in December 2023, will see his on-screen father Peter Barlow – who also left the soap – join him on his boat.
After a few difficult months for Simon, he is sent off for a new start in the soap.
In a first look ahead to his departure, spoilers show the moment when Simon says goodbye in emotional scenes.
Coronation Street star Alex Bain (left) will leave the ITV soap next week after 16 years playing Simon Barlow (pictured with on-screen dad Peter Barlow)
The character leaves the soap in emotional scenes, with viewers expected to see Simon waved goodbye as he leaves Weatherfield for good.
Alex is said to be ‘really excited’ to continue with the ITV soap when it was unveiled last year.
A source said The sun last year: ‘Alex is sad to leave Coronation Street because it really is like a family, but he realizes the time is right to move on.
“He’s very excited about the future and other opportunities.”
Alex has been involved in a number of controversial storylines at the Cobbles, winning the British Soap Award for Best Young Actor in 2011 and taking another gong at the Inside Soap Awards in 2014.
In real life, the actor became a father at the age of 17, when his then-girlfriend Levi Selby gave birth to their daughter Lydia-Rose at the age of 16.
A source said at the time: ‘They were over the moon at the birth of their daughter and were very happy together. But they’ve been through a lot together and they’re both still so young.’
Their relationship ended the following May and the soap star met dancer Mollie Lockwood, 22, in 2019.
Alex then revealed in December 2022 that he had popped the question to Mollie two months earlier.
His departure, which was first announced in December 2023, will join his father Peter Barlow, who also left the soap, on his boat.
After a few difficult months for Simon, he is sent off for a new start in the soap
In a first look ahead to his departure, spoilers show the moment when Simon says goodbye in emotional scenes
The actor has played Simon Barlow since he was seven years old and will leave this summer in an explosive storyline (pictured 2019).
It comes after Alex reportedly split from fiancée Mollie Lockwood, 21, just six months after his engagement
Alex became a father at the age of 17, when his then girlfriend Levi Selby (pictured) gave birth to their daughter Lydia-Rose at the age of 16. The couple separated in 2019
In conversation with OK! magazine, Alex gushed: ‘I can’t spend my life with anyone else.’
Mollie explained why the couple kept the news a secret for so long, saying: ‘We wanted to enjoy that special time together, just the two of us.’
Alex spoke about his nerves, saying: ‘I thought, ‘If I don’t do it now I’m going to get more and more nervous!’ I was pretty sure she would say yes, but I was still working on it.”
However, in early 2023, it was reported that Alex had sadly separated from his aspiring actress fiance Mollie.
The couple reportedly called it quits six months after their engagement, and Alex deleted all traces of Mollie from his Instagram account at the time.
An insider said The sun: ‘They are disappointed that the relationship didn’t work out, but they are both so young that it is difficult to make such a big commitment early in their lives
“Their friends have rallied to support them and keep them busy. Simon is focused on the soap and gets stuck in storylines and his role.’