'Despondent' Corrie stars panic over brutal cull in secret WhatsApp group
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Coronation Street actors have reportedly had enough of the tense conditions on set. The ITV soap is said to be going through a major budget crisis, resulting in mass firings, tightened purse strings, and changed ways of filming. The show recently confirmed that Colson Smith (Craig Tinker) and Charlotte Jordan (Daisy Midgeley) are the next actors set to depart Weatherfield, joining a host of losses over just the past few weeks.
Corrie fans said goodbye to Helen Worth (Gail Platt) on Christmas Day and the likes of Sue Devaney (Debbie Webster), Sue Cleaver (Eileen Grimshaw) and Lucy Fallon (Bethany Platt) are also part of the massive cast exodus, sparking concern over the future of Britain's oldest soap - and fans aren’t the only ones worried about what will come next.
“There’s a WhatsApp group which has been pinging with messages about concerns of where the axe will fall next. It’s a tough time on the soap and it’s filtering down,” a source told The Sun, adding that actors thought the show might fire even more people in order to afford keeping the highest-paid stars in the show.
Alongside the smaller cast, life on set is said to be a lot less “fun” that it once was. The insider explained: “Filming is tough. One person moaned they were ‘worked like dogs.’” They added that the era of “bumper pay” was over for the cast, and shared that “there’s a despondent feeling among actors” on the show.
Recently, insiders explained that a major budget crisis was behind the cast firings."Corrie is on its knees financially and bosses are being forced to make hard decisions" thanks to TV production costs soaring while the advertising market funding them has all-but collapsed. "The cast are not happy but ITV have no choice but to slash costs," a source said.
