DOWN THE ROAD Another Coronation Street star swaps the cobbles for rival soap amid cast cuts and budgets being slashed
CORONATION Street’s Mollie Winnard has become the latest star to swap Weatherfield for a rival soap.
It comesamid a string of budget cuts on the show, with longtime stars such as Sue Cleaver, Colson Smith, Shelley King, and Sue Devaney either quitting or being forced to leave the cash-strapped serial drama.
Now, Mollie – who is known for playing Kayla Clifton on the cobbles – has taken on a new role on Waterloo Road.
The actress, 29, is joining the school-set drama as new teacher Gemma Tully, who has recently qualified.
She has so far been confirmed to appear in eight upcoming episodes, with it yet to be announced whether she’ll be a longterm fixture.
Mollie joined Coronation Street as waitress Kayla in April 2018 and left the summer of that year.
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It comes after Coronation Street bosses previously decided to slash the number of established characters in scenes taking place in the iconic Rovers Return pub in a bid to reportedly claw back cash.
Every time actors appear on-screen, they are due a per-episode fee, which can mount up for actors on lucrative deals.
Both Corrie and Emmerdale have been hit by scheduling changes too, with both soaps slashed to five 30-minute episodes per week, rather than six.
Over the last 12 months, a slew of stars have left Coronation Street, with some being axed by show bosses whilst others chose to walk.
Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank)
- Daniel’s character Billy was killed off in epic CorrieDale crossover episode earlier this year.
- He was part of the show for an impressive 12 years before bosses decided to axe the character.
Craig Tinker (Colson Smith)
- The character of Craig Tinker was been axed by bosses in 2025 after 14 years. After he was told of the news in Autumn 2024, Colson Smith confirmed that would be written out of the show with scenes to air later this year.
- Craig’s on-screen mum, Beth Tinker, also left the show in the summer when actress Lisa George was written out from the role.
Eileen Grimshaw (Sue Cleaver)
- After 25 years playing Eileen Grimshaw, former I’m A Celebrity campmate Sue Cleaver has quit the show.
- The Sun on Sunday reported in January 2025 that she was filming her final scenes, with the character departing Weatherfield last summer.
Daisy Midgeley (Charlotte Jordan)
- Daidy became the fifth star to leave Coronation Street in just one month last year, bowing out after four years.
- At the time, Charlotte told sources that she’s hungry to see what other opportunities await.
Mason Radcliffe (Luca Toolan)
- Bosses decided to axe the teenage character after just 16 months after he first joined the show. Recent scenes saw Mason stabbed by his criminal brothers after his pal Dylan brought a knife in an attempt to defend him.
Reece Bolton (Scott Anson)
- Scott played villain Reece Bolton intermittently since October 2022 but left the soap last year.
Jenny Connor ( Sally Ann Matthews)
- After making her debut in 1986 , Jenny Connor was a staple as she came in and out of the Cobbles.
- But after criticising the show on social media, actress Sally was axed in what was dubbed a “story-led decision”, however, sources at the time said her Instagram rants “didn’t help”.
Debbie Webster (Sue Devaney)
- Whilst she may still be appearing on screen, Sue’s character is being written out of the soap in a lengthy dementia storyline.
- Her exit date hasn’t yet been confirmed, with the star previously revealing it will go on until 2027.
Despite the chaos, both soaps have seen a rise in their viewing figures – largely understood to be due to the release of early 6am streaming on ITVX and YouTube.
In January of this year, both soaps reported a cool 65 million viewers combined, 10 million more than their previous highest month – with the ratings likely boosted by the history-making crossover Corriedale and the events that followed in each soap.