FORMER Coronation Street star Charlie Lawson has said he doesn’t think the soap will exist in the future.

The 65-year-old, who is best known for playing Jim McDonald, made the shock claim as he took a swipe at the ‘poor’ pay, particularly for younger members of the cast.

The soap is battling for survival amid ITV’s cash crisis and a revolt from cast over working conditions and pay.

And Charlie, who has not been on the show since 2018, believes it’s on its last legs and explained why he is no longer a fan.

Speaking on The Nolan Show, he revealed: “I don’t watch it. It’s a different animal now. It’s issue driven now as opposed to when I was there in the 90’s, it was character driven.

“It’s issue driven now, there’s a degree of wokery involved, there’s a degree of political correctness involved and also there are subjects that need to be touched upon, whereas in my day it was character driven.

“I don’t think Corrie will be around in 10 years time. I don’t think it’s going to be having a 94th birthday because television is fundamentally different.”

He continued: “I also think EastEnders days are numbered and Emmerdale Farm’s days are numbered because of the ratings. It is nothing like the 15 to 21 million we were getting. People dip in and out now. If the income is falling from advertising revenue they are not going to hang around are they?”

Opening up about pay as he was quizzed about how much money he made from it, Charlie revealed the salaries are not what someone would expect.

“If you go to do theatre or TV anywhere else in Europe or America or Canada as I have – we are on half the money that we work over here,” he said.

“Whether that be British actor’s Equity or whatever, traditionally we are on less than any of our acting fellows and ladies and gentlemen around the world.

“I remember working in Canada and the starting negotiations over there for Equity minimum was about £300 a week more than ours.

“That’s the same in Europe. Actors in this country have been treated poorly for years. If you were doing a show like Coronation Street in America then you would be buying your own vineyard. You’d be shocked how little some of the young people and newcomers are on.”