RYAN Thomas has revealed the emotional reason for returning to Coronation Street – nine years after quitting his role as Jason Grimshaw.

The star, 40, played builder Jason in the ITV soap from 2000 until leaving in 2016.

Earlier this year, The Sun revealed Ryan would be making a comeback to the cobbles after almost a decade away.

He has now opened up about the emotional reason behind his return.

Speaking to Metro, Ryan said: “It was a mix of nostalgia and gratitude for what the show has done for me.

“When they told me Eileen was leaving, it felt right to be a part of that storyline for her and revisit where it all started.”

Elsewhere, the star admitted how he “couldn’t sleep the night before” – despite his long tenure on the soap.

Ryan shared: “Even though I’d been there half my life, I felt like the new kid at school.

“It took me half a day to get rid of the nerves. It was a bit of a shock to the system at first.

“I even went on YouTube to rewatch old scenes and got nervous.

“But it became the norm again very quickly. Everything about the script made it easy for me.”

A source previously told us: “It was a no brainer for Ryan to return when he was asked – it’s all for Sue.

“She’s like a second mum to him and he was willing to do anything to make her send off as special as she deserves it to be.

“He’s not acted for a while so it’s a bit daunting but he played Jason for so long that he’s looking forward to going back to the cobbles.”

Since leaving Coronation Street in 2016, Ryan later quit acting after saying he “lost the bug for it”.

At the time, he revealed on Mancs on the Mic: “It’s hard for me. I started off acting, I started off in that game and I really lost the bug for it.

“I feel the reason for losing the bug is rejection and going to auditions and not getting them.”

Ryan has had success on reality TV – winning Celebrity Big Brother in 2018 and Dancing on Ice in 2024.

More recently, he and younger brother Adam Thomas have hosted the game show 99 to Beat.

Coronation Street airs on ITV1 and ITVX.