Emmerdale fan-favourite confirms exit ahead of Corriedale

Emmerdale star Chris Coghill has confirmed his exit from the ITV soap shortly before its historic crossover with Coronation Street.

The former EastEnders star, who plays Kev Townsend in the long-running rural serial, took to social media to confirm his departure.

‘Right. In a bit Emmerdale’, he wrote on Instagram, alongside a video of his final scene, which has already aired. ‘Thanks for all the love for Kev’.

It didn’t take long for co-stars to comment, with Bradley Riches, who plays Kev’s son Lewis Barton, writing: ‘MISS YOU DAD XX’.

Aaron Dingle legend Danny Miller, meanwhile, added: ‘I’m gonna start a petition’.

Introduced as the secret husband of Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley), Kev caused quite a stir when he rocked up in the eponymous village, determined to win back his estranged beau.

Robert, however, was more interested in rekindling things with love of his life Aaron, who had only just escaped the clutches of evil John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth).

The situation came to quite a dramatic peak last year when Kev held his husband and love rival both hostage with a sword, before evading the village.

He staged an unexpected return at Christmas, making it clear that he wanted to win Robert back but he was soon held captive by killer John, who returned to exact revenge on Robert and win back Aaron.

Kev ultimately realised that Robert had moved on and, after evading John’s grip, he ultimately left the village. Son Lewis, who works at the cafe, has no clue that Kev is his dad so it remains to be seen if he’ll get the chance to realise such a thing.

Fan reaction has changed significantly towards Kev since his debut. When introduced, viewers feared what Kev’s arrival would mean for Robron, but quite a lot of them ultimately grew to love the character.

*I* would really love Chris back as Kev. I want to see him baking cakes with Claudette, bickering with Nicola and Liam, and awkwardly doting on Lewis’, a user of X said in November.

Gillian wrote: ‘His chemistry with every actor was sublime. I’d love him back to see the relationship with Lewis develop’.

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Kev’s departure comes ahead of Emmerdale’s crossover with Coronation Street, which will see the ITV soaps collide for the first time ever.

The highly-anticipated Corriedale episode will see a devastating car crash as characters from ITV’s two legendary soaps come face-to-face.

With high-octane drama expected, fans can rest assured that secrets will be exposed and relationships will be torn apart as lives are on the line.

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7pm on ITV1 or stream from 6am on ITVX.

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