Coronation Street fans were hit with bittersweet news at the start of 2025 when longtime cast member Sue Cleaver announced her departure from the show after 25 years of playing Eileen Grimshaw. Speaking openly, Cleaver said she wanted to “embrace change” and step outside her comfort zone.
Her exit storyline began with the surprise return of Eileen’s sister, Julie Carp (played by Katy Cavanagh), who hadn’t appeared on the show since 2015. But the surprises didn’t end there—soon, another familiar face will return to the cobbles: Eileen’s son, Jason Grimshaw, played by Ryan Thomas, who was last seen in 2016.
How Sue Cleaver Orchestrated the Return
Speaking on ITV’s Off Script podcast, Sue revealed how she personally convinced Ryan Thomas to reprise his role for her farewell.
“I rang Ryan Thomas and said, ‘Ryan, I’ve not told work yet, but I’m going to leave. Would you come back? I’d really like you to take me out,’” Cleaver recalled.
“He said, ‘I wasn’t planning to, but I can’t refuse that, can I?’ I said, ‘No, you can’t!’”
She added that it just felt right to have him there for her character’s exit. Co-host Kelvin Fletcher revealed that Ryan felt “honoured and privileged” to be part of her final storyline.
An Emotional Goodbye
Sue shared that she had been thinking about leaving for a long time:
“I believe you have to step outside of your comfort zone. You are never too old for new challenges.”
Describing her final scenes, she said they were “lovely but emotional,” and teased that the ending was “absolutely fabulous” and everything she had hoped for:
“When I read it and saw it, I was really emotional. It’s the perfect ending.”
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