Coronation Street is a British soap opera first broadcast on ITV on 9 December 1960.^[1] The following is a list of characters introduced in 2023, by order of first appearance. January saw Amy Robbins join the cast as Christina Boyd, the mother of established character Daisy Midgeley (Charlotte Jordan). In June, Noah Olaoye joined as Gav Adetiba, a friend of Max Turner's (Paddy Bever). Claire Sweeney is also set to join the cast as Cassie Plummer, the estranged mother of Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall) and daughter of Evelyn Plummer (Maureen Lipman), in June. Married couple Courtney (Stephanie Davis) and Darren Vance (Ryan Early) then began appearing in July. Additionally, multiple other characters have appeared throughout the year.

Christina Boyd

Christina Boyd, played by Amy Robbins, made her first appearance on 23 January 2023. She was introduced as the mother of established character Daisy Midgeley (Charlotte Jordan). Robbins' casting was announced on 2 December 2022 with storyline details being kept secret. However, it was confirmed that Christina would "shake things up on the cobbles" in her first few months on the soap, with "potential for more appearances down the line".^[2] A spokesperson for Coronation Street stated that Christina's arrival would "up-end Daisy's life" as well as explain Daisy's personality.^[3] It meant a lot to Robbins to be cast on the soap. Robbins' brother Ted Robbins, who portrayed Brendan Finch, advised her "not to underestimate the feeling of standing in The Rovers Return for the first time"; he told her that the feeling would be overwhelming and she agreed.^[4]

Robbins based Christina on a woman she had encountered in real life. At a Coronation Street press event, she explained: "I knew a woman who was doing one form of healing after another, getting one qualification after another. And nobody actually knew whether she was fully qualified, or whether she was just totally making the whole thing up. That sort of, living on the front foot and staying with friends. I've known a few women like that."^[5] She described her character as chaotic and a "bag of contradictions".^[5] She felt that Christina wants people to think she is confident while on the inside, she is vulnerable. Despite her faults, Robbins found there to be a warmth and likability to her character, if she was given the chance. She stated: "she's made so many mistakes, she's probably full of guilt. In her own way, she wants to make things better but she keeps messing it up. That's what she does, she messes stuff up."^[5] Due to this characterisation, Robbins found it interesting to portray the role.^[5]

Owen Longford

Owen Longford, played by Ben Hull^[6] is a representative of the American distribution company Nippersnapper, who first appeared on 3 March. Hull's casting was announced on 2 February^[7] and was introduced as a love interest for Jenny Connor (Sally Ann Matthews). After Stephen Reid (Todd Boyce) signed a business deal between Nippersnapper and Underworld, he caught the eye of Jenny Connor despite being engaged to Elaine Jones (Paula Wilcox), he became jealous when he saw Owen with her and warned her of his sleazy past.

Crystal Hyde

Crystal Hyde, portrayed by Erin Austen was introduced as a love interest for Ryan Connor (Ryan Prescott), who initially appeared between 22 March and 17 April, however on 23 October, it was reported that Austen would return as Crystal and she made her return on 6 November. However, Austen departed again on 20 December as part of Ryan's departure storyline, which saw them leave Weatherfield to have a new life in Glasgow after his one night stand with Daisy Midgeley (Charlotte Jordan) was discovered by her fiance Daniel Osbourne (Rob Mallard).

Austen described it to be "surreal"^[8] when she joined the cast of Coronation Street. She told ECHO that "It’s such an iconic show and I couldn’t believe I was going to be able to walk down the Cobbles let alone be on the show with so many other incredible actors."^[9] After Crystal's initial departure, Ryan continued to text who he believed was Crystal, however it was revealed that it was actually Daisy Midgeley (Charlotte Jordan) pretending to be her.

Estelle Harrington

Estelle Harrington, played by Ruthie Henshall, is an old acquaintance of Glenda Shuttleworth (Jodie Prenger). She arrives to make arrangements for her mother-in-law's funeral. She is outraged by George Shuttleworth's (Tony Maudsley) estimate for the funeral cost and berates him, but is shocked to learn that he is Glenda's brother. Estelle reveals that she is the co-owner of a performing arts company, Little Big Shotz, and that anyone can buy into the franchise and open their own branch. Glenda becomes interested and Estelle agrees that she is perfect for the opportunity.

Henshall's casting was announced on 13 March by Digital Spy^[10] and that she would be making a guest appearance. She first appeared on 7 April and departed on 14 April. Henshall told Digital Spy that she would love to play Estelle for longer and said "'After the experience I've just had, yes I would [play Estelle again]'".^[11]

Gav Adetiba

Gav Adetiba, played by Noah Olaoye, first appeared on 5 May 2023. He is a fellow student Max Turner (Paddy Bever) meets in a secure training centre (STC). They form a friendship, and during their lessons with English teacher Daniel Osbourne (Rob Mallard), Gav is the first pupil to work out the connection between Daniel and Max, as Daniel is looking out for Max on behalf of Max's stepfather, David Platt (Jack P. Shepherd).

Olaoye described Gav as a lovable rogue. He opined that Gav is not a bully or someone who throws his weight around, but is instead "genuinely a likeable guy [who has] a screw loose so there is that side to him where people are afraid of him".^[12] He warned that Gav would do something unhinged if a character were to get on his wrong side. He is bored in the STC and wants to cure his boredom, believing that he may as well have fun while he is there.^[12] Olaoye admitted that before being cast, he searched into the people he would be working with. He discovered that Bever had won a National Television Award and "was like, 'No pressure then!'".^[12] He was at Huddersfield railway station when he learned of his casting and recalled standing around for five minutes trying to take the news in.^[12]

Max naturally gravitates to Gav since he is "the unofficial head boy" of the class.^[12] Olaoye explained: "People acknowledge Gav as 'the guy', and you don't mess with Gav otherwise you are going to have a problem. He is not an authoritative figure, just his presence and his aura alone let people know you don’t mess with him."^[12] Olaoye said that Gav's friendship with Max is genuine due to their similarities. Due to the STC being a "quite lonely and there [being a] lot of bravado around", critics liked that their friendship gave each other someone to depend on.^[12] Olaoye hinted that there would be ups and downs for the friendship, but that they would bring out the best in each other and develop a "beautiful bond".^[12]

Sabrina Adetiba

Sabrina Adetiba, played by Luana Santos, is the younger sister of Gav Adetiba (Noah Olaoye) and girlfriend of Max Turner (Paddy Bever). She initially introduced herself to Max as Bec, as the ex-girlfriend of Gav, who ended their relationship prior to Gav being in a secure training centre (STC). He asks Max to track her down for him. He meets up with Sabrina and the two instantly begin flirting, developing a secret relationship. However, she learns that Max was in the STC for an Islamophobic hate crime, and due to being black, she believes that Max is using her as a token. When Gav is released from prison, Max admits that he is dating who he believes to be Bec, but Gav reveals that she is his sister, Sabrina.

Unfortunately, Max and Sabrina's relationship is a very rocky one as Max's ex-girlfriend Lauren Bolton (Cait Fitton) returned and the two battle for Max's affections. Digital Spy reported on 30 August that Paddy Bever hoped for a future for Max and Sabrina saying: "'Max is torn in between two people that he cares very much about when Lauren moves into the flat next door to Sabrina,'" Paddy explained. "'I think Sabrina is a really good influence on Max, she's been responsible for growing him up a lot.'"^[13] During the love triangle story line, Santos spoke about the twist and said:"'I think Lauren struggles with having no one,'" the actress said. "'Eventually, I think she will accept it, but I think it’s going to take a lot of self-reflection and mental help.'"^[14] She also reflected on Sabrina's relationship with Max saying: "'She's been able to go on this journey with Max.'"^[15]

Cassie Plummer

Cassandra "Cassie" Plummer, played by Claire Sweeney, made her first appearance on 28 June 2023. She was introduced as the estranged mother of Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall), who was led to believe that she had died from a heroin overdose by her mother, Evelyn Plummer (Maureen Lipman). Cassandra's backstory involves leaving Tyrone at a station due to her feeling unable to care for him and having a drug addiction. The Metro's Calli Kitson said that her arrival on the soap would cause a dilemma for Evelyn, who has to decide if she will admit her lies to Tyrone.^[16]

Sweeney's casting was announced on 21 April 2023 and she began filming later that month. On her casting, she said: "Even though I've been lucky enough to have enjoyed an amazingly varied career for nearly 40 years – being cast in Coronation Street is, to me, better than being cast in a Hollywood movie!"^[16] Sweeney said that she had watched the soap for her entire life and was in shock that she was able to walk on the cobbles. She was nervous to audition since the show meant a lot to her and was "beyond thrilled and grateful" when she learned that she would be playing Tyrone's mother and working alongside Lipman, a "hero" of hers.^[16] Of Sweeney and her character, Coronation Street executive producer Iain MacLeod said that she impressed the production team in her audition and described her scenes with Tyrone and Evelyn as "electric".^[16]

Her granddaughter Hope finds her unconscious following a drug overdose, after promising to stay clean.^[17]

Darren Vance

Darren Vance, played by Ryan Early, made his first appearance on 17 July 2023. Darren was introduced alongside wife Courtney (Stephanie Davis). It was confirmed that from the offset of their introductions, Courtney would embark on an affair with teenager Aadi Alahan (Adam Hussain). Darren partners on a business project with Aadi's father, Dev Alahan (Jimmi Harkishin), which leads to Courtney meeting Aadi and beginning an affair.^[18]

On his casting, Early said: "I am so thrilled to be playing Darren Vance on Coronation Street and joining the most iconic soap. I grew up watching the show with my grandmother so to walk on the cobbles is such an honour."^[18] Executive producer Iain MacLeod stated that the couple will be "nothing but drama" during their stint on the cobbles. He said: "In Stephanie and Ryan, we have cast two fantastic actors as the catalyst for this fun, fiery storyline".^[18]

Courtney Vance

Courtney Vance, played by Stephanie Davis, made her first appearance on 19 July 2023.^[19] Upon her introduction, she becomes a romantic interest for teenager Aadi Alahan (Adam Hussain).^[20] It was confirmed that Courtney's relationship with Aadi would be an affair, since Davis' casting was announced alongside that of Ryan Early, who portrays her husband, Darren. Davis and Early began filming for the soap in May 2023.^[18]

Davis expressed her excitement at being cast on Coronation Street since she had grown up watching the soap. She said: "to be part of the biggest TV soap in Britain, which is in the hearts and homes of so many people, is an honour."^[18] Executive producer Iain MacLeod stated that the couple will be "nothing but drama" during their stint on the cobbles. He said: "In Stephanie and Ryan, we have cast two fantastic actors as the catalyst for this fun, fiery storyline".^[18] She begins an affair with the son of her husbands business partner Aadi Alahan (Adam Hussain).^[21]

Shelly Rossington

Shelly Rossington, played by Natalie Amber^[22] is a woman who Paul Foreman (Peter Ash) meets outside of an MND support group. She first appeared on 24 July, and really enjoyed gospel music. Paul gets scared as he fears he might end up like her and decides not to go into the support group. Seeing Shelly makes Paul consider Billy Mayhew (Daniel Brocklebank) to assist with his death. Paul meets up with Shelly at the hospital and talk about their different views on having MND, making Paul reconsider about making Billy kill him.^[23]

Paul later found out that Shelly has been buying computers on her old company credit card and then selling them on so she can pay for carers. Despite knowing they have been stolen, Paul gives one to Summer for her 19th birthday. On 13 September, Shelly's death was aired, leaving Paul absolutely devastated. At Shelly's funeral, Paul and her brother Kieran end up having a fight as Paul gives a talk about Shelly's life, which her brother objects to, leading to Paul telling him off for not being there for her when she died.^[24]

Joel Deering

Joel Deering, played by Callum Lill, made his first appearance on the 7th of September 2023. He was first introduced as Lauren Bolton (Cait Fitton)'s duty solicitor, and is Dee Dee Bailey ( Channique Sterling-Brown)'s new love interest.^[25] Actress Channique Sterling-Brown talked to Digital Spy about the up coming storyline.^[26] "We're going to see her go on a bit of a dating journey. Her life is a mixture of fun but chaos, and I think fans will really enjoy seeing her try to navigate that world. When she's in the courtroom, she's totally in control. I think it's going to be really fun to see her struggle to quite work things out, so that's what we've got coming up. She's probably missed all sorts of romantic opportunities because she's had her head either in the clouds or in the courtroom!"

Mason Radcliffe

Mason Radcliffe, played by Luca Toolan first appeared in September 2023. Toolan announced his casting on social media saying: "There’s a new kid joining the cobbles - Mason Radcliffe. It’s an honour to be a part of a show that I’ve grown up on that has some of the warmest and most talented people."^[27] He was introduced as part of a bullying story line and first appeared when he first targeted Ruby Dobbs (Billie Naylor) before recruiting others to help him bully her more.

Amy Jones from OK! suggested the story line was impactual by saying: "Coronation Street star Luca Toolan certainly made an impact when he joined the ITV soap earlier this year as bad boy Mason Radcliffe. Recently we've watched Mason rule the cobbles as he continues to influence those around him by leading them astray, particularly when it comes to young Dylan Wilson (Liam McCheyne). Just last month, we saw Dylan, Mason and Liam Connor picking on Ruby Dobbs in the heartwrenching school bullying storyline."^[28]

At his school, Mason and his friends teased Ryan Connor (Ryan Prescott) over his scars (which he got after being involved in an acid attack). Daniel Osbourne (Rob Mallard) intervenes and makes Mason and his friends leave Ryan alone.

Mason caught the attentions of Dylan Wilson (Liam McCheyne) and Ryan's adoptive cousin Liam Connor (Charlie Wrenshall). Mason, Dylan and Liam witnessed Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall) talking to a police officer about his car being stolen and used in a hit and run which injured a girl named Eliza. A shocked Mason fled and later told Dylan and Liam that he was the one who stole Tyrone's car and had caused the accident and tells them to give him an alibi.

Mason later encouraged Dylan and Liam to smoke a disposable vape pen, which makes Dylan feel sick and Liam suffer a severe asthma attack. Mason runs off, leaving Dylan to call an ambulance.

Mason and his friends later mocked Amy Barlow (Elle Mulvaney) and her fellow protesters placards. This resulted in Amy nearly hitting Mason with one of the placards before police intervened and sent Mason and his friends on their way.

After learning that Dylan's father Sean Tully (Antony Cotton) had disposed of their remaining vapes, Mason demanded that Dylan give him his designer trainers, which Sean had got him, as compensation for the lose of the vapes. After Sean discovered that Dylan's trainers were missing, he planned to go to the school about it. This caused Dylan to inform Mason of Sean's intentions. Not wanting to get into trouble, Mason framed Liam by placing the trainers in his school locker. Later, Mason was confronted by Liam's stepfather Gary Windass (Mikey North), who guessed that Mason had framed Liam. Gary warned Mason to stay away from Liam or else he would see more of him and next time, he would not be so friendly. Mason later sent a threatening voicemail to Liam in retaliation. At school, Mason warned Liam not to tell on him again or else his mother Maria Connor (Samia Longchambon) would suffer.

Mason and his friends later confronted Liam and threw rubbish on him and called him a rat. Dylan witnessed the event, but did not intervene out of fear of Mason. When Mason started filming Liam on his phone, the latter retaliated and knocked the phone out of Mason's hand. This resulted in Mason threatening Liam with a knife. Mason was later approached by local police Craig Tinker (Colton Smith) and another police officer, who searched Mason for the knife, but did not find it on him. It was later revealed that Mason had Dylan hide the knife. Mason believed that Liam was the one who reported him to the police and sent him a vile picture of a rat, unaware that it was in fact Liam's stepbrother Jake Windass who had phoned the police.

Mason and Dylan later bunked off school and stole a box of vapes from Simon Barlow and went to Dylan's home. Afterwards, Simon's father Peter Barlow arrived outside the House to confront the pair over the theft and threatened to break down the door. Upon learning from Dylan that Peter killed Stephen Reid, Mason challenged Peter to run him and Dylan over with his car. Outraged, Peter kicked open the door, causing Mason to flee the house in fear whilst Peter restrained Dylan. Later, Dylan tells Mason that he had hidden the vapes and the knife in a bin, to which Mason tells him to sell the vapes at Prima Doner and that he will collect the money whilst Dylan can keep the knife.

After Liam got Dylan into trouble at school by questioning him about selling vapes, which was overheard by their headteacher, Mason confronted Liam and opened his bag and threw the contents to the ground before throwing the bag on top of a van as a warning to Liam to not interfer with his business again. Mason also videoed Liam struggling to retrieve his bag, which Liam later saw footage of.

Ange Carlisle

Ange Carlisle, played by Nicole Barber-Lane made a guest appearance on 26 September 2023. She was seen to be a customer at Webster's garage where Kevin Webster (Michael Le Vell) tried to impress her when she asked for her car to be looked at as she revealed she was the owner of a taxi cab firm. She also revealed that she recently parted ways with a garage business who used to service her fleet and was looking for a new garage. Cassie Plummer (Claire Sweeney) revealed her past and Abi Webster's history of drug abuse, however this didn't put her off and was interested in what they had to offer when she collected her car.

Barber-Lane previously played Myra McQueen in Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks for thirteen years and fans immediately recognised her. "Taking to Twitter, one excited fan said: 'Myra McQueen in Corrie wtf is happening,' as another tweeted: 'Aw Myra from hollyoaks miss her on there.' A third jokes: 'myra mcqueen get off the cobbles you absolute traitor.'"^[29]

Tony Byrne

Tony Byrne, played by Sean Cernow^[30] is a former plumber who first appeared on 20 November in the house of Ed Bailey (Trevor Michael Georges) and has been described to "be embroiled in a big winter storyline in the coming weeks."^[31] Cernow has had two previous minor roles on Coronation Street, however Tony Byrne has been conveyed to "be his biggest Corrie role to date though in the gripping new storyline with Tony and Ed that will play out in the run-up to Christmas."^[32] Manchester Evening News reported that Cernow said "I hope people are really going to like Tony, he's dead sweet and lovely. He has a past though and is an old friend of Ed's. At first he thinks 'brilliant, Ed is helping me to get over the past', but what he doesn't realise is that the saint could actually be the sinner."^[33] He also joked and said "Because I always end up playing the bad guys, I've said in the past I'd love a punch up on the cobbles. Viewers will have to wait and see if that happens with Tony."^[34]

On 7 December, Digital Spy announced that things are going to get nasty between Ed and Tony around Christmas by saying "Ed Bailey will be viciously attacked over his unpaid debt to Tony later this month."^[35] On Christmas Eve, in which the episode aired on Friday 22 December, Tony forces his way in to the Bailey's house as Ed is about to depart for Birmingham on the train and attacks him as he isn't able to pay back the money he owes him. Ed reluctantly takes the presents he has bought his family for Christmas, including a wendy house for his granddaughter Glory (Eleanor Beckles), to a pawn shop after Tony guilt tripped him by saying he wouldn't be able to buy his own family Christmas presents. He departed following the incident in January 2024.

Sarge Bailey

Ernest "Sarge" Bailey, played by Ram John Holder is set to make a guest appearance in the following months.^[36] He is the father of established characters Ed (Trevor Michael Georges) and Ronnie Bailey (Vinta Morgan) and has been described "to be a "substantial" guest role."^[37] John Holder's casting was announced on 29 September.^[38]

John Holder made his first appearance as Sarge Bailey on 27 November, when he came to visit Ed and the family. At the dinner table, when playing Dominoes, he made snarky remarks about Ed's gambling addiction, unbeknownst to him or anyone else in the family he was currently struggling with it again. Dee Dee Bailey (Channique Sterling-Brown) quickly stepped in to his defense. After spending Christmas with his family, he departed on 5 January 2024.

Bobby Crawford

Bobby Crawford, played by Jack Carroll,^[39] made his first appearance on 27 December. He’s the estranged son of Rob Donovan (Marc Baylis) and nephew of Carla Barlow (Alison King).

He turns up out of the blue shortly after Christmas, and Carla will be shocked to find out she has a new family member. Bobby's dad Rob is currently serving a life sentence in prison for the murder of Tina McIntyre (Michelle Keegan) and only recently found out he has a son, leaving eldest sister Carla in the dark. Described as "a livewire chip off the old block, with the gift of the gab and an eye for the ladies," Bobby is sure to ruffle some feathers in Weatherfield as he plans on sticking around longer than his Aunt Carla intends.

Moses Ekundayo

Moses Ekundayo is going to be the new assistant for Paul Foreman (Peter Ash), who is set to appear in episodes airing Wednesday 27 December and Friday 29 December and into January.^[40] Moses will also be a new love interest for Todd Grimshaw (Gareth Pierce) and will be played by Michael Fatogan,^[41] whose casting was announced on 15 December.^[42] Producer Iain MacLeod told Digital Spy "There's a dalliance for Todd, but it arrives at quite a poor time. And the person with whom he has the connection is probably not ideal in terms of the situation that Todd meets them in. At this time, it's only a little test drive of his relationship with this person. It's not very long running, but we thought that if we like what we see, it might go on to be long-running later on."^[43]

Other characters

References