Craig Charles has revealed how the sudden death of his brother prompted his decision to leave ‘Coronation Street’.
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The actor is set to bow out of the ITV soap, after 10 years of playing cab driver Lloyd Mullaney, after re-evaluating his life when Dean Charles passed away in November.
Craig Charles on 'This Morning'
Speaking on ‘This Morning’ about leaving ‘Corrie’, Craig told hosts Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes: “It’s really quite sad, actually, but my brother died last year. He was 52 - I’m 51. When he died I thought, ‘There’s things that I’ve got to do. I’ve got to do some things before it’s my time’. There’s so many things that, because ‘Coronation Street’ is such a big part of your life, you don’t get to do.
“So I’ve just signed a deal with Sony Records and we’re bringing out an album on September 18th – a compilation of funk and soul. It’s some of the best records ever committed to plastic - 3 CDs on that."
He added: “Then of course mid-November we start making ‘Red Dwarf’. We do two series of ‘Red Dwarf’ back-to-back, which will take me all the way up until March. Then in March I’ll sit down and go, ‘I wish I was back on ‘Coronation Street’!’”
Lloyd will leave the Street with Andrea
Craig has already finished filming on ‘Corrie’, but will return for the live episode in September when Lloyd will leave the Street with girlfriend Andrea Beckett (Hayley Tamaddon).
During his appearance on ‘This Morning’, Craig also dismissed reports he is returning to the ‘I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!’ jungle, after he was forced to quit last year’s series due to his brother’s death.
"I am open to doing it again but not this year as I'm filming ‘Red Dwarf’," he said.