Coronation Street star John Thomson breaks silence on return for Gail’s exit
Jesse Chadwick is coming back to Weatherfield.
Coronation Street star John Thomson has spoken about his unexpected return to the show for the first time.
The former Cold Feet actor is reprising his role as Jesse Chadwick, who was last seen on the ITV soap in 2010.
Last month, it was reported that Jesse was speedily written into scripts at the last minute after Martin Platt’s comeback plot had to be scrapped.
Martin was due to return to the cobbles for Gail Rodwell’s exit plot, with the pair tipped to reignite their relationship and go off into the sunset together. However, ITV announced that Sean Wilson – who plays Martin – stepped away from the show “for personal reasons” and none of his filmed scenes would air.
In a new interview, John has now confirmed that Jesse is heading back to Weatherfield to see Gail following the news of her granddaughter Bethany’s botched cosmetic surgery procedure.
This marks a change from Jesse’s last stint on the show where his main love interest was Eileen Grimshaw, Gail’s long-time enemy.
John explained: “Jesse is not really prepared to see Eileen after things ended so badly between them. When Jesse left, he’d been spreading his bets over two sisters, which is slightly morally bankrupt to say the least.
“He’s changed dramatically because he’s very remorseful for that behaviour, so for him to think that Eileen would even contemplate having him back after he made a play for her sister is not on his radar.
“I don’t think the new Jesse could possibly entertain that there would ever be anything with Eileen again because of his actions in the past.”
He continued: “Jesse met Gail in Thailand. He’s heard about Bethany and he’s very worried. So on his travels he’s returned via Weatherfield to check on Gail, because they’ve stayed in touch via email. He’s heard all about Bethany and he’s very concerned for Gail.”
Asked what the Platts make of this, John laughed: “So two like him and two hate him! Shona and Nick are prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt, whereas David and Sarah are absolutely not – it’s just total mistrust from the start.
“There is the thinking that they need a decent man in their lives, but as soon as David lists all Gail’s previous, it’s no wonder that there is a mistrust because Gail’s sense of judgement over men has been very poor.
“Really Shona and Nick are very generous in their offer to wipe the slate clean and see what Jesse might be like given Gail’s history. Jesse’s going to have to work really hard to get David and Sarah on his side and see he is just a friend who cares about Gail, because there’s a real sense of mistrust about his motives.”
He continued: “I was a bit shell shocked when I first came in because I’d forgotten the speed of the turnaround so it was an absolute baptism of fire. But everyone in the Platts has made me feel so welcome. I just feel secure and proper looked after.
“Helen [Worth, who plays Gail] and I are absolutely thrilled to be working together, everyone’s good company and there’s always fun to be had on set with the Platts, which is great.
“It was a bit like crank handle starting a car after all these years but the laughs have got us through. Ben [Price, who plays Nick] said to me: ‘You do know we’re all always word perfect, don’t you?’ I thought ‘Oh no’ but thank God he was winding me up.
“My ability to learn lines at speed is getting better and better again so it’s not as daunting as it was. And I’m sharing a dressing room with Joe [Duttine, who plays Tim] which is great, he’s a really good guy, we get on really well and we’re both the same – juggling childcare and getting on with the job.”
