IT is safe to say that 2024 is a year that most Coronation Street fans will gladly forget.

From boring storylines, dramatically hyped-up undramatic twists, one police interview down the cop shop every episode and a focus on some of the most

irrelevant characters to ever grace Weatherfield – it has been a clear fall from grace amid a steady decline in its popularity.

It seems that not only are those at home watching fearing the worst for the future of the show – backstage, not everything seems to be rosy.

The Sun were the first to reveal Coronation Street has been hit by a cash crisis and has failed to guarantee that ANY of its cast can be kept on beyond the end of the year.

But for a show that was once on top form and churning out unmissable episodes every week, what has gone wrong on the once glorious cobbles?

With mass character axings on the way – including the atrocious decision to bin off Debbie Webster, arguably the only character worth having in the ITV soap at the moment – here are the 10 characters who should be binned off immediately in order to free up the budget and rid Corrie of its apparent responsibility to keeping on the dead wood.

Izzy Armstrong

Played by Cherylee Houston, Izzy arrived on the Cobbles in 2010 as part of the newly-established Armstrong clan.

At the start, Izzy was once a fun and cheerful character who was at the heart of many episodes of the soap.

These days, she appears just fleetingly but most fans, including myself, now wish she would just not appear at all.

Izzy has no real ties to the Street and even when her own mother appeared on the programme again earlier this year, it seemed bosses forgot about this connection and instead focused on Linda Hancock’s interactions with her grandson.

It feels as though Izzy has simply just been lost in a cast which drastically needs reducing.

Her character serves no purpose and any appearances she does make is cringe-worthy as its clear she has only been handed a line in order to fulfil her episode quota and show that she is actually still there.

She’s a character that I fear has truly outstayed her welcome – and by about seven years.

Sean Tully

Speaking of characters that have outstayed their welcome, no character has clung onto a life in Weatherfield more than Sean Tully, played by Anthony Cotton.

I don’t actually know a single person who is in favour of keeping this character around.

To use Sean’s only used phrase – I ‘appen’ it’s time he cut his losses and moved on.

He is no longer even sofa-surfing at poor Eileen’s (who appeared to go missing this year but that’s yet another story) which has destroyed his only true connection to the cobbles.

The character of Sean has seen no direction or development since about 2010.

Whilst he did play the supportive father role during Dylan’s bullying hell, it all felt a bit too ‘right place, right time’ in order to shoehorn him into a plot for once.

It felt inauthentic with Sean’s care of Dylan lost amid an unhinged rage for revenge.

With 20 years under his belt, I think 2025 is the year that Corrie bosses should finally accept that Sean’s time on the show is up.

Jenny Connor

This is a difficult one. Jenny has been an excellent landlady at the Rovers Return and it has actually been one of the few positive steps in Corrie’s more recent history.

Played by Sally Ann Matthews, 2025 marks 10 years since Jenny popped back up on the street as part of a child-kidnapping plot with Kevin Webster.

Whilst her character has undergone a dramatic personality transplant since then into a more fun and care-free soul – I actually think this was needed and has added to Jenny’s longevity.

However, there is something hard about watching a character when the real-life actress seems to be truly disconnected from the role.

Sally Ann has made no secret about her dislikes on Corrie and sparked fears she had been axed when she let slip she wouldn’t be needed for filming anytime soon during a late-night Instagram live.

Just last week, the star was caught bashing the show once again and even claimed ITV had “no money” in a shocking rant.

With the big-chiefs now having hauled Sally Ann in for an emergency meeting about her off-screen antics, it seems to me that a Jenny exit could not come fast enough.

Bobby Crawford

Bobby, played by BGT star Jack Carroll, has had a rather bland first year on the soap.

Whilst it seemed that bosses had high hopes – it has all fallen a bit flat.

The first mistake came in introducing him as the son of a character who, at the time, was no longer in the soap – Rob Donovan.

It seemed bizarre to unleash a long-lost son but never have him firmly reconnect with his father.

He then took solace at Aunty Carla’s – a move which felt very out-of-character for her, allowing a teenage boy to live with her having only met him the week before and already cramming 4 people into a two-bed apartment.

Bobby has simply just become a spare part.

His jokes just aren’t that funny and actor Jack seems to be the only one to think they are as he attempts to hold back a smirk after uttering one of his lines.

I think his exit looms with it being fair to say that this was just a character that, quite frankly, did not work.

Yasmeen Metcalfe

This is another incredibly tough one but it is time for Yasmeen, played by Shelley King, to go.

Shelley was a powerhouse during the horrific domestic abuse storyline between Yasmeen and Geoff Metcalfe.

I would go as far as to say that their relationship and Geoff’s deeply cruel ways was Corrie’s last stand-out fantastic storyline.

Viewers watched on the edge of their seats each week as Shelley delivered heart-breaking performances of a woman living in fear.

It is a crime that her captivating acting did not pick up any gongs with the actress certainly eligible to win a Best Actress award for the story.

However, since Geoff’s death and her return to normal life, Yasmeen has, like many other, been lost in a crowd full of people.

She has been handed no gritty storylines to get her teeth into even though it is clear she is more than capable.

Pairing her off with the utterly dull Stu Carpenter, who thank goodness was given the boot, was also an epic error on the storyliners behalf.

It looks as though there is a caution to hand out another life-changing plot to Yasmeen and she’s been reduced to a bit-part with nothing really to say.

If that doesn’t change any time soon, I think it is best Yasmeen wave goodbye now so that she doesn’t become one of the other characters who hang around like a bad smell for 10+ years with no real purpose.

Gemma Winter

Gemma has changed from a hard-faced council kid into a cash-strapped mum of quads and for the most-part, yes I think it has worked.

But there is only so much whining about life’s problems that Corrie viewers can take.

I like how Gemma still represents the core of what life is like for many people in real-life suburbs that Weatherfield is based on.

However, she has fallen into the trap of being a character to laugh at and not with.

Her gross antics are becoming tiresome and she never seems to hold down a storyline for more than a few months at a time.

Dolly-Rose Campbell is more than qualified to play both the dramatic and comedic plots, however.

Gemma’s romance with Henry Newton was one of the more refreshing things we have seen in recent years.

In fact, had Gemma ran off with him, she would probably have escaped this axe list.

But she is just not worthy of being kept on the Street in favour of others around her anymore.

Chesney Brown

Speaking of Gemma – she ought to take Chesney with her.

Played by Sam Aston, it is the classic example of a kid character who remains on the cobbles but by their mid-20s is hit with a whole lot of ‘what do we do with them next‘ questions.

In essence, Chesney is not a bad character.

But the hapless father routine and endless shifts at the kebab shop is worn out.

This is a soap opera – there could be plenty of ways to give Ches something more decent to do whilst still dipping in and out of his family’s home-life struggles.

Unless they send Chesney on a serial killer rampage this year, I can’t see any plots with him in captivating me enough to want him to stay.

Daniel Osbourne

To be honest, I’m just bored of Daniel now.

He is a good character and Rob Mallard has his moments where he portrays real emotion.

But I’m just not fussed about seeing him on-screen anymore.

Yes it might be harsh but his will-they won’t-they love triangle scenarios is getting a bit tedious.

If cuts need to be made and characters need to go – I think Weatherfield will carry on just fine with a Daniel Osbourne-shaped hole in it.

Billy Mayhew

Billy was central to Corrie this year as a result of his husband Paul Foreman’s MND diagnosis and subsequent death.

Paul’s final months on the cobbles were a difficult watch with all the actors involved delivering stellar performances, including Billy actor Daniel Brocklebank.

But the truth is, the character of Billy is just unlikeable.

He came across as selfish during Paul’s tough time and his subsequent rows with Paul’s mum Bernie have shown yet another rotten side to the character.

Maybe it is a sign that Daniel is actually portraying the role excellently by making many viewers dislike Billy.

But it’s hard to enjoy watching characters you dislike when they have no saving grace to them.

Paul’s death also leaves Billy practically family-less in Weatherfield and it is hard to see him forming any new connections worthy of keeping him on the cobbles.

Billy’s only remaining family member is his foster daughter, Summer.

Don’t get me wrong, Summer, played by Harriett Bibby, is a pleasant character – but that’s just it, she’s pleasant and nothing else.

I don’t get excited to watch any scenes with Summer nor do I particularly hate any scenes with Summer but therein lies the problem.

Whether its excitement or rage, you want to feel something from each of the characters on the show.

They are each there to provoke certain responses and feelings and sadly, Summer just doesn’t do that.

I’d like to see a nice exit for her this summer (how apt!), where she eventually leaves to study in America – a dream that she had always had.

It doesn’t need any bells and whistles on it as that’s never been Summer.

Just a nice pleasant exit will do and the Street will carry on with not a second thought in the world.