8:56AM, Mar 15, 2006
Three of Coronation Street's top stars are to quit the cobbles.
They have all been involved in some of the soap's most sensational plots in recent years, but will join a host of other actors who have left Weatherfield for good of late.
Kate Ford (superbitch Tracy Barlow), Bill Ward (builder Charlie Stubbs) and Soapstar Superstar winner Richard Fleeshman (Craig Harris) are to be written out.
The three made the announcement before Johnny Briggs' leaving party to mark his 30 years of playing Mike Baldwin.
It means that Corrie has lost a total of 12 characters in the last few months.
An insider told The Sun: "It's an absolutely amazing exodus - virtually 20 per cent of the cast."
And it looks like there will be more exits to come.
New producer Steve Frost, nicknamed 'The Iceman', has lined up more stars for the chop.
Set to go are: Ray Fearo (Nathan Harding), Susie Blake (Bev Unwin), Emma Stansfield (Ronnie Clayton) and Eric Potts (Diggory Compton).
Shobna Gulati (Sunita Alahan) left in January and Jane Danson (Leanne Battersby) is leaving to have a baby.
The source added: "It's almost a full scale evacuation - Steve Frost will face huge headaches replacing so many stars."
Social bookmarking allows you to save and categorise a personal collection of bookmarks and share them with others. This is different to using your own browser bookmarks which are available within your web browser.
Use the links on the left to share this page on the social bookmarking site of your choice.
Read more about social bookmarking at: Wikipedia - Social Bookmarking