Panic on Coronation Street: Stars fear axe from new boss

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The blunt message was received by at least two younger members of the cast, who have taken out mortgages and were worried about the arrival of Emmerdale supremo Kate Oates as executive producer in February.

A Corrie source told TV Biz: “With a new boss coming in and the threat of certain cliques being suddenly under threat, it’s made people a bit panicky.

“A few people have been raising the tentative question about their contracts being renewed or extended, but the answer has been it will all have to wait until the new year — and that has set a few nerves jangling.

“Some people have signed mortgage deals and the prospect of getting into trouble with those if they lose their jobs or whatever isn’t good for the nerves.

“Everyone has been told there will be personal sit-downs with the new boss, who will have her own ideas about how their characters will progress — or not.

“It’s probably the same every time someone new comes in, but it doesn’t help the younger and more vulnerable cast, especially in the current climate.”

The soap has been rocked with a series of departures in the past few months.

The most recent, as we revealed last week, was stalwart Ryan Thomas, who has played hunky builder Jason Grimshaw for 15 years. His decision to leave next summer fuelled fears that other cast members could be planning to follow in his footsteps.

The Street source explained: “Ryan felt the time was right to move on and try some new projects.

“But it’s not lost on anyone that he is not the first cast member to take that decision of late.”

A long line of stars have quit since current executive producer Stuart Blackburn took the helm in 2013.

Julie Hesmondhalgh, who played Hayley Cropper, Chris Gascoyne (Peter Barlow) and Michelle Keegan (Tina McIntyre) all left under his stewardship.

While this year has seen Craig Charles (Lloyd Mullaney), Hayley Tamaddon (Andrea Beckett), Amy Kelly (Maddie Heath), Jimi Mistry (Kal Nazir) and Ian Puleston-Davies (Owen Armstrong) leave the famous cobbles behind.

Alison King threatened to quit as Carla Connor in May, but was persuaded to take a 12-month sabbatical at the end of the year instead of bowing out.

The soap source added: “There is a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes with various groups of actors and actresses who are in different camps and who were and were not favoured by Stuart Blackburn, so his departure is massive for them all.

“Some are wanting the new boss to stamp her mark on the show by sorting out any perceived favouritism and some are obviously wanting assurances about their financial futures.

“But they have been told: ‘You will just have to wait to see Kate in 2016.’”