Sam Aston, who has played Chesney Brown for more than 21 years on Coronation Street, is taking a break from Weatherfield to join 10 other celebrities competing on Dancing on Ice. The 31 year old actor is keen to reassure fans that he’s only on a temporary pause from the soap, and Chesney will be back on screens soon. “At the minute I'm not filming right now, but I am there, I'm not being written out for this or anything like that,” he explains. “I have got a bit of work [on Coronation Street] in the pipeline coming up, so it'll just depend on how far I go on Dancing on Ice.”.
It’s understandable that Corrie fans could be worried about another departure from the series, with Helen Worth who played Gail leaving at the end of last year and other stars tipped to leave, but Sam isn’t going anywhere. ”I think we’re in a period at the minute where a couple of the big characters are going. It's always been like that on the show with people coming and going,” he says. “Obviously we have lost, with Helen especially, one of the icons on the show. Fifty years, she was an absolute legend, hats off to her. Enjoy your retirement. You deserve it.”.
Having joined the ITV soap when he was just 10 years old, Sam isn’t ruling out staying with the show as long as Helen did. “I’d love to do 50 years on Corrie,” he says. “I'm nearly halfway there. It's on the cards.”. “We get 12 month contracts,” he explains. “I’m currently in a 12 month contract that has been a rolling thing for the last few years. I never rest on my laurels, I wouldn’t like to think I’m irreplaceable or anything like that, but as long as they want me and I’m enjoying it, I’ll stay.”.
