Coronation Street bosses replace Sean Wilson with a familiar face in a hectic rewrite as Gail is set to have a new love interest for the final storyline – after the actor was mysteriously fired

Coronation Street bosses have reportedly replaced sacked Sean Wilson with former star John Thomson in a “hectic recast”.

The actor, 59, was set to He will reprise his role as Martin Platt in October as part of the storyline surrounding the happy departure of his ex-wife Gail as 73-year-old actress Helen Worth prepares for retirement, but now John's character Jesse Chadwick will be the one courting her.

John appeared on the cobbles as a hapless children's entertainer between 2008 and 2010. During that time he dated Gail's rival Eileen Grimshaw (Sue Cleaver), suggesting the new storyline could see a rematch between the two women.

A source told The Sun: “The last few weeks have been absolutely hectic and incredibly stressful for Corrie's bosses and writers.”

“So many new storylines were considered for Gail's departure, but they revolved around a love story – which proved difficult as she buried five of her six ex-husbands. And the last one still alive, Martin, was obviously fired in real life.

Coronation Street bosses have reportedly replaced sacked Sean Wilson (pictured) with former star John Thomson in a “hectic recast”.

The actor was due to reprise his role as Martin Platt in October, as part of the storyline about his ex-wife Gail's happy departure as 73-year-old actress Helen Worth prepares for retirement, but now John's character Jesse Chadwick (pictured) will be the one courting

John appeared as a hapless children's entertainer on the cobbles between 2008 and 2010 (Sean pictured here with his co-star Helen Worth)

“They wanted a recognisable name and chose John because his character was popular with viewers and was a real blast from the past.”

MailOnline has contacted John's representative and ITV for comment.

John had previously stated that he would never return to the cobblestones: “I don't want to be known as Jesse Chadwick, the children's entertainer, for the rest of my life.”

In 2012, he told Metro: “I've been lucky. I've had a varied career and enjoyed moving in and out of different areas. I was there for ten months and felt I'd served my purpose.”

This comes after Sean was reportedly kicked off the show two weeks before the news broke and lawyers have been called in as the mystery surrounding the cobblestones deepens.

However, he reportedly left the show suddenly after being “called into headquarters” before quitting for “personal reasons”, resulting in Gail's entire storyline surrounding her exit having to be frantically rewritten.

Sean had returned to Corrie in July to film his first scenes and had already recorded episodes with a large number of the soap's stars.

After The Sun first reported the news on Friday, a source has now revealed that he secretly quit the band weeks ago. Cast and crew are shocked and bosses are forbidden from discussing the matter.

Jesse was dating Gail's rival Eileen Grimshaw (Sue Cleaver, picture), which suggests that there could be a rematch between the two women in the new story

John had previously stated that he would never return to the cobblestones: “I don't want to be known as Jesse Chadwick, the children's entertainer, for the rest of my life.”

Earlier this year, Sean said soap storylines today are “issue-centric” and try to solve the world's problems but fail to do so. Compared to his own time on the show between 1985 and 2005, when viewers would watch in droves and “laugh and cry” at the end, he said, it was a failure.

Speaking to The Daily Star: “I think the world of soaps is a very different medium today. I think I was part of the British soap industry in its heyday, in the halcyon years when 18 or 21 million people watched it.”

“You could walk down the street on a Wednesday or Friday and hear people laughing with their windows open because the great script and the great acting really spoke to the nation. I don't think that's the case so often these days.”

He continued: “People don't have to watch it anymore. They all got conflated; you were five minutes away from laughing and five minutes away from crying. These days it seems very issue-focused, they're trying to solve the world's problems, but they're not going to.”

As The Sun reportedSean was called to a meeting with his superiors and left the meeting without offering an explanation to his co-stars.

An ITV spokesman told MailOnline: “Sean Wilson has withdrawn from filming for personal reasons.”

Sean's agent told the publication: “Neither he nor I will be making any further comments or statements.”

Sean played Martin for 20 years before emigrating to New Zealand with his family in 2018. Before leaving, he paid one final visit to Weatherfield to reconcile with David, who was upset about his father leaving the country.

After the news was first reported on Friday, a source has now revealed that he secretly quit the band weeks ago, leaving cast and crew shocked and bosses barred from discussing the matter (pictured with his co-stars Helen Worth and Tina O'Brien).

As The Sun reported, Sean was called to a meeting with his superiors and left the meeting without “giving an explanation” to his co-stars.

Although the couple's ten-year relationship ended when Sean's character Martin had an affair, this relationship is considered the most successful of Gail's previous five marriages.

In July, it was confirmed that Sean would reprise his role as Martin as part of Gail's exit after 50 years on the cobbles.

When Sean picked up his first scripts to start filming, he said: “It was great to be invited back to Coronation Street to be part of Helen's farewell story.”

He added: “We'll have a few months to see Martin and Gail again and follow the ups and downs of the unfolding plot.”

“I have enjoyed the role of Martin from day one and in some ways I am returning to where I left off, which will no doubt be a real blow to the Platt family.”

“It's like pulling on an old, comfy sweater from the back of the closet… I'm excited to be reunited with my TV family.”

However, this week a spokesperson for the soap said the actor had quit for “personal reasons” and none of Sean's scenes would be broadcast, while bosses are currently feverishly rewriting the entire storyline surrounding Gail's exit.