‘Vera replacement’ and brand new ITV drama Ellis casts Coronation Street star for new series
ELLIS returns to Channel 5 with their second feature-length episode where DCI Ellis played by Sharon D Clarke undertakes a new investigation.
This time she’s investigating the mysterious disappearance of a local detective, Jenny Rawler. But her new colleagues believe Jenny left of her own free will.
Coronation Street William Travis joins the cast as Sgt Frank Landry who is a local officer investigating Jenny’s disappearance.
Fans may remember him from the cobbles of Weatherfield where he starred in three different roles.
William made his first appearance in 2008 as Vince a musician and builder who, along with his friend Don, started work constructing a smoking shelter in the back yard of the Rovers.
Liz McDonald was angry when they did more slacking than working and also received complaints from Blanche Hunt.
But Don and Vince abandoned the project halfway through when they got an offer of a gig on a cruise ship.
William returned in 2010 to play Sergeant Major Keith Partridge, a warrant officer on the hunt for soldier Gary Windass who had gone AWOL from his Army posting.
Gary confessed that visiting an army colleague, who had lost his limbs in a battle, had caused him to lose his nerve about his army career.
However, Gary came to the conclusion that he had to return to the Army and contacted the Sergeant just before he called at the house to take him away.
In 2014 William returned once more to the cobbles to play Neil Beckett, the husband of Andrea Beckett.
During the time that Neil was working abroad as an engineer in Nigeria his wife had began a relationship with Lloyd Mullaney.
When he returned home, he showered her with gifts, totally unaware of the fact that she was having an affair.
Neil began stalking Andrea and Lloyd in an attempt to win Andrea back. However Andrea angrily demanded a divorce.
After a few more tries, Neil accepted defeat and put his house up for rent and left the country.
William has also had roles in Downton Abbey, Doctors and Casualty.
Coronation Street's 2024 shock exits
Corrie has said goodbye to several cast members this year. Let's break down who's left the famous soap:
Eliza Woodrow (Savannah Kunyo) has said farewell to Corrie to start a new life in Germany.
The youngster moved to live with her dad Dom Everett, who went back on the £10,000 bribe Eliza’s grandfather Stu had offered to keep him out of her life.
Paul Foreman (Peter Ash) will bow out of the soap this summer when he loses his fight with motor neurone disease (MND) in tragic scenes.
After being diagnosed last year, the fan favourite was devastated to learn he only had months left to live.
Viewers know he is planning to take his own life to end his suffering.
Summer Spellman (Harriet Bibby) departed the cobbles after being offered the opportunity of a lifetime to study in America.
Though she struggled to decide with her stepdad Paul’s impending death from MND, she was convinced she had to live her life to the full.
Simon Barlow (Alex Bain) has struggled with the sudden departure of his father Peter from the cobbles.
The Weatherfield legend left his family and loved ones behind on Boxing Day, 2023, when his wife Carla Connor encouraged him to travel around the world with a friend.
Simon’s been on a downward spiral ever since and his exit could end in tragedy.
Alya Nazir is set to leave the cobbles as actress Sair Khan prepares to go on maternity leave ahead of the birth of her first child.
It looks likely she’ll be heading to Dublin after securing a lucrative new job, leaving her colleague and fling Adam Barlow behind.
Show stalwart Sue Cleaver, who plays Eileen Grimshaw, is taking a break to star in the Sister Act The Musical UK tour. She will be back filming in May once her dates on the tour come to an end.
Her character left the Street after her son Jason broke his back after falling off a moped in Asia.
The full synopsis for Ellis which is set to rival detective show Vera explains: “Ellis and Harper arrive in the town of Callorwell to investigate the disappearance of a local detective.
” Leighton needs Ellis to control the case: the DCI of the station is off with stress, and the force recently arrested the head of a major criminal gang but bungled the case and had to let her go.
“Jenny’s colleagues are indifferent to her disappearance, believing she left of her own free will, but Ellis – and Jenny’s husband – feel something is amiss.
“More so when she learns that when Jenny disappeared, she was days away from submitting a complaint of bullying against her colleagues.
“Rife with a toxic culture, the station blocks Ellis at every turn forcing her to reach out to the enemy.”
Ellis airs at 8pm Thursday on Channel 5