Corrie Beth Tinker star's connection to Martin Platt exposed as huge return confirmed

Coronation Street icon Lisa George has been entertaining the nation as Beth Sutherland (née Tinker) for 13 years but it's not the only character the actress has played in the ITV soap.

The 51-year-old actress made her debut as the fan favourite back in August 2011 but before she landed the role of Beth, Lisa appeared in Corrie in two other roles.

Eagle-eyed soap fans will remember Lisa landed the role of an an unnamed nurse colleague of Martin Platt (Sean Wilson) back in September 1997 and she also played a Family Liaison Officer working on the investigation of Tommy Harris's (Thomas Craig) murder for six episodes between March and April 2005.

It has previously been reported that Lisa's role as Beth was originally intended to be short-term and appeared initially for two episodes. However due to popular feedback, she was promoted to a regular cast member alongside on-screen son Colson Smith, who plays PC Craig Tinker.

It was confirmed this week that Sean Wilson will reprising his role as Martin and he'll appear on screen in October as part of Helen Worth’s exit storyline as Gail Platt.

Corrie bosses have confirmed that Martin's son David Platt (Jack P. Shepherd) is shocked to find his dad at the house and is immediately suspicious about his reason for coming back into their lives.

Sean picked up his first bumper pile of scripts on Wednesday (July 24) as he prepares to start shooting but how will the rest of the family feel when Martin reveals why he has turned up out of the blue?

He said:"It was great to be invited back to Coro St again, to contribute to Helen’s exit story. We’ll have a few months to catch up with Martin and Gail again, following the ebbs and flows of the unfolding storyline."

"Playing Martin has been a joy since day one and in a way, I’ll be slipping back to where I left off, which no doubt will throw a spanner into the heart of the Platt family.

"It’s just like slipping on an old and comfortable jumper from the back of the wardrobe. I'm looking forward to reuniting with my TV family."

Sean, who left the soap in 2005 to become a cheese-maker, played Martin for 20 years from 1985 to 2005. Martin and his family emigrated to New Zealand in 2018 and he paid one final visit to Weatherfield before his departure to make his peace with David, who was upset that his dad was leaving the country.

What has brought Martin back to the UK and what part will he play in Gail’s departure from the street?

Coronation Street airs Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX