The actor first played Spider Nugent on the ITV soap in 1997, with his original departure taking place in 2001. Following a brief return in 2003, Hancock made a full-time comeback in 2022, before the character left Weatherfield once again a year later.

Now, following his stints on Coronation Street, Hancock will trade ITV for the BBC for his latest role, with The Mirror reporting that the actor has signed up for a stint on the medical-drama Casualty.

𝑭𝒂𝒏𝒑𝒂𝒈𝒆 & 𝑾𝒆𝒃𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒆: 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬.𝙞𝒏𝙛𝒐

As per the report, Hancock will play Samuel Jankowski, a relative of student paramedic Indie (Naomi Wakszlak). Whilst the details of Samuel’s relation to Indie are unknown, one presumes that their meeting will see them bond over the death of Indie’s grandmother.

Indie was introduced in January on the BBC soap, with her grandmother’s death triggering a storyline that has seen the paramedic without a place to sleep. It is unknown when Hancock will make his debut as Samuel, nor how long his stint will be.

Despite his new part, Hancock previously shared that he would be open to reprising his role of Spider once more, explaining his belief that his character and Toyah Battersby had unfinished business in their relationship.

“I don’t think it’s the end of the story,” Hancock said. “I think these two will always have a bit of love there. Spider will be desperately sad about the way things have ended. At the end of the day, whatever version of Spider we’re talking about, he loves Toyah, so he’s bound to feel sad.

“There’s something between those two, as their relationship dates back 25 years… Of course [I’d return]. I said it the first time I left, then the second, third time [and] fourth time round. I love the show. It’d be nice for a Spider and Toyah wedding to happen at some point.”