Coronation Street star Sally Ann Matthews reveals the real reason she left ITV soap after almost 40 years
An Coronation Street actress who left the famous cobbles after almost 40 years has shared the harsh reason she left the ITV soap.
Sally Ann Matthews, who played Jenny Connor for almost four decades, was suddenly written out of the show.
Long-time fans were shocked to see the 55-year-old go at the end of last year, and were unsure what had happened.
Now the actress has revealed the truth - and it’s brutal.
Sally Ann first joined the hit soap all the way back in 1986 as villain Alan Bradley’s teenage daughter. Twenty years later, she made her return and was only supposed to be on-screen for a few months – but she ended up staying for almost another 20 years.
But, in October, Sally’s character Jenny left the street for the final time.
Sge has now revealed that she chose to leave because she was no longer enjoying the role.
“Every year when your contract comes round, there’s that question: ‘Am I enjoying it?’ If I am, I say ‘Yes, I’d like to stay.'” she told The Mirror. “When you come to a point where you’re not enjoying it, you say no.”
She continued: “I’m 55 now, I don’t wanna waste my time doing stuff that I’m not enjoying with people that I am not enjoying doing it with.”
Sally Ann also went on say that she felt like the ITV soap was now too crime orientated, compared to how it had been when she first joined the cast.
“If I wanted to watch a police drama, I’d watch Line of Duty. I really think the soap genre should stick to its USP (unique selling point),” she told the publication. She further added: “Obviously for ITV, Corrie brings in a big audience, which helps them hugely with their overall figures, and it would be a big risk for someone to take, but Corrie needs to stay in its lane and be what it is, which is a soap!”