CORONATION Street have handed one of their long-serving stars a brand new contract amid a cast cull.

Bosses on the ailing soap have secured a fan-favourite character for least another year on the cobbles.

Simon Gregson will continue to play taxi driver Steve McDonald in Coronation Street after his contract expired late last year.

The Sun can reveal he’s inked a new year-long deal with ITV to remain on screens.

A soap insider said: “Simon Gregson signed a new contract in December to stay on the show.

“He’s a soap legend so Corrie without him is unthinkable.

“He’s going through a tough time money-wise so the contract and knowledge he’ll be around for another year (and probably many years to come!) will be a relief.”

It comes after The Sun revealed Simon Gregson has been clobbered with a £40,000 bill to pay accountants liquidating his production firm.

He has been charged more than £500-an-hour by the finance chiefs.

Simon already faces losing his house over the closure of his company, which owes the tax office and a bank £165,000.

And his conduct in transferring £252,000 from Simon Gregson Productions Ltd into a private account is being probed by the government as part of the process of any bankruptcy.

Meanwhile, Coronation Street has will see a raft of departures over the coming months.

Stars such as Paddy Bever and Shelley King have announced they’ve left the soap.

Five other stars — Charlotte Jordan, Sue Cleaver, Sue Devaney, Colson Smith, and Luca Toolan — have announced they are leaving or being written out since November 2024.