A CORONATION Street actor has confessed he has breathed a “sigh of relief” amid axe fears.
Actor Michael Le Vell has revealed he was left relieved when ITV bosses offered him a new contract to keep him on the soap beyond January’s Corriedale crossover special.
The star, who has played Kevin Webster on the show for 40 years, admitted his contract was up for renewal in the New Year leading to speculation Kevin could be killed off in the show’s epic Emmerdale collaboration.
The Sun revealed earlier this month that he had been handed another 12-month deal which secured his place beyond the soap first.
Speaking to The Mirror, Michael said: “You can never take the job for granted.
“My contract was due in January and I’ve just been offered a new one, so I can breathe a sigh of relief for another year.
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“But you can never look beyond that.
“They might say ‘you know what, we can’t write for you, we don’t know what to write for you anymore. Thank you and goodbye.’
“That’s the nature of the beast.”
It means that Kevin won’t be one of the characters at risk of dying during the epic hour-long episode due to hit screens on Monday 5 January.
Kevin will feature in the dramatic episode which sees a huge car crash following Debbie Webster’s wedding.
Speaking about being involved in the episodes, Micheal said:“It was an honour to be part of Corriedale because these things don’t come around too often.
“I was in a scene with a couple of Emmerdale actors – Jeff Hordley (Cain Dingle) and Danny Miller (Aaron Dingle) – as we tried to move a crashed car, which was great.
“The episode involved a lot of night shoots out on location and our trailers were next to each other, so the casts of the two shows were always having a cup of tea and a chat, which was fun.
“It’s very exciting; it was a great privilege to be a part of it.”
So far details have been kept under wraps but fans are expecting to see a number of deaths rock both shows.
Trailers have already revealed many of the stars who will crop up in Corriedale – including Tracy Barlow, Carla Connor, Robert Sugden and Joe Tate.