Coronation Street legend unrecognisable as he appears on This Morning 21yrs after quitting ITV soap
Coronation Street star Kevin Kennedy took to the This Morning sofa to talk to hosts Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley 21 years after quitting the ITV soap. Kevin played the iconic character of Norman Arthur "Curly" Watts from 1983 until his departure in 2003, and now looks unrecognisable, two decades later.
The star spoke to Cat and Ben about his new project, which is worlds away from the character of Curly, as he stars in a punk rock musical. The former Weatherfield resident is set to narrate an upcoming show called Pretty Vacant, which will start touring in January 2025.
Known for his huge circular glasses and blonde ‘floppy long hair’ during his time in Weatherfield, Kevin can now be seen sporting a more 'stripped-back' look without any of Curly's recognisable features.
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Kevin fondly spoke about the ITV soap on the This Morning sofa and expressed how lucky he was to have landed the iconic role, reminiscing on all the "insane stories" he was involved in. One of these included soap's first ever two-hander between himself and his Raquel Wolstenhulme (Sarah Lancashire).
The episode saw his wife Raquel turning up unexpectedly on New Year's Eve 1999 to ask for a divorce along with the revelation that Curly had a daughter.
Speaking on his departure from Weatherfield in 2003, Kevin said: "I have been wanting to take some time to pursue some new exciting projects for a while now and this gives me the ideal opportunity," he said. "After so long in the Street I’m keen to spread my wings a bit. After discussions with Kieran we decided this would work for everyone concerned."
As Kevin announced on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he'd be appearing on This Morning, many fans called for the return of his character to Weatherfield. "Would love for Curly to return to Corrie. What the soap desperately needs is to bring back some of its most iconic characters where possible and Curly was absolutely one of those," penned one.
It has recently been reported that Coronation Street will air the death of iconic character Les Battersby, who shared many memorable scenes, and fights with Curly. Bruce Jones played the role from 1997 until 2007, and recently claimed that bosses notified him via email that the character will die off-screen. The star said he was “sad” about the whole situation, but noted it would stop members of the public questioning him on his return.
Speaking to MailOnline, Bruce said: "I actually thought, well fine, I played him for ten years. It gives me closure. Maybe it will stop people asking me all the time when I'm going back, if I'm going back.
"People want me back, but it'll stop all that, in shopping centres, wherever I go. I'm pleased it's happening but I'm also sad about losing a character I played for ten years. I'm grateful to the street for that."
