Coronation Street star says 'it's the right time' as he quits cobbles after three years

Coronation Street's Stu Carpente is set to leave the iconic cobbles tonight with a tear-jerking goodbye as actor Bill Fellows departs the beloved soap after a memorable three-year stint.

The poignant exit will see Stu realise the risk his efforts to help troubled teen Mason Radcliffe have posed to Yasmeen Metcalfe and her venture, prompting his decision to relocate to Germany for a fresh start with his granddaughter.

Bill, aged 67, fondly reminisces about his time on the street, admitting that while initially apprehensive about the longevity of the role, it turned into an unexpected delight.

He shared insights into his initial concerns: "When I first started it was a six month contract but with options that took me over three years. At the time it was something that did panic me a little as I have my house down south and it seemed like a long time, I am used to playing lots of different characters and three years seemed a long time to play the same character."

However, this trepidation quickly changed to contentment as he reflected: "But I needn't have worried, what I realised when I got the chance to play someone for a long time it was heaven really, I wasn't tied into anything and the three years have flown and this felt like the right time to go, I always knew I would go at the end of the three years."

Intriguingly, Bill divulged how fate played a hand in his Corrie career, considering his brush with another role prior to becoming Stu: "I auditioned for the role of Roy's brother, Nina's dad before I got the role of Stu. I wasn't right for the part but it was for three weeks so it was fate really because I got this part and stayed three years."

"I am so proud to have been in Corrie. It is a massive part of all our lives, especially at my age, 67, it has been around all my life. All my family watched it so it was really exciting to be a bit of history. I was on set recently and I was just looking around at all the photos of everybody and I just thought "Wow, I have been a part of this', the fact that I have worked alongside William Roache and who is a truly lovely man it has been wonderful," reports the Liverpool Echo.

Before his final scenes, which air tonight (Monday, October 14), Bill confessed he has "no regrets". He stated: "I have no regrets at all. It is the right time to go for me and for Stu. I will look back with fond memories and I wouldn't rule out coming back in the future."

"But Stu has evolved, we started off with a homeless guy who was wrongly accused of murder and and then we get to the point three years later where this guy's got almost a quarter of a million pounds and has cleared his name and made it a life for himself. I'm really pleased with the story, because it's been fully, fully formed."

Bill has already secured a new television role away from the cobbles. He shared: "I am fortunate in that I have a busy few months coming up. I am doing a couple of Episodes of a BBC sitcom based in Middlesbrough called Smoggie Queens with Mark Benton.

"And then I am working on a film with Mark again and Stephen Tompkinson about low level gangsters in Middlesbrough. It is kind of ironic that I am hedging back to the North East to work as it is even further from my home down south than Corrie is!

"But it is my hometown and I know a lot of people there so I am very much looking forward to that. There is a Vampire film in the pipeline which is looking promising. I want to keep working on varied projects and I also want to travel a bit, I am quite laid back but excited about the future."

Coronation Street is on ITV at 8pm Monday, Wednesday and Friday and available to stream from 7am on ITVX