Brian Capron breaks silence on Corrie return as Richard Hillman while Gail’s marriage to Jesse hangs in the balance
BRIAN Capron has broken his silence on his epic Coronation Street return as Richard Hillman.
The soap star has reprised his role as the twisted dead ex-husband of Gail Platt ahead of her final ever scenes.
Earlier today The Sun exclusively revealed how bosses had secretly brought back the businessman for a one-off.
Richard died in 2003 when his plan to murder Gail, Sarah, David and Bethany by drowning failed.
Speaking about his brief return to the cobbles, Brian said: “It was a lovely experience, they’ve written a very clever scene.
“It’s a very tricky thing to bring a character back from the dead but I think the writers thought very carefully about how to do it and they’ve come up trumps.
“For me it’s got the right kind of dark humour which there always was with Richard Hillman which I love but also a slight hint of menace. I thought they balanced it perfectly.”
Paying tribute to Helen, who is bowing out after 50 years, he continued: “I think we have a very special relationship which is why the Hillman storyline worked out so beautifully.
“I never wanted it to look like he was a really bad, horrible person so we worked very hard on making it a very loving relationship. It gave a lot of dimension to the character, thanks to Helen, so it was great to be back with her for the day.”
The eerie scenes at the end of tonight’s episode saw Gail wake up from a nap on her sofa and find a man searching through her sideboard and initially thinks it’s husband-to-be Jessie.
Brian’s return was months in the making and planned shortly after Helen Worth told bosses she would be leaving the show after 50 years.
The Sun can exclusively reveal the extreme lengths bosses went to to keep the return a secret.
During filming Richard was sneaked onto the cobbles in the back of a car with blankets placed over his head.
Gail has been planning a Christmas Day wedding to Jesse Chadwick after secretly falling for one another on one of her trips to Thailand.
Amid their whirlwind love, they have also decided to up sticks and relocate to France.
Gail was forced to sell the Platt house to pay off the costs of Bethany’s cosmetic surgery and subsequent hospital stay in Turkey.
Although, for now, the exit details on Gail’s exit and whether she will make it down the aisle, or even to France, are being kept under wraps.
Coronation Street Christmas and New Year schedule
ITVX won't host early episodes for some days, but soap bosses have yet to confirm which dates won't have an early release
Monday December 23 – 8pm ITV1 & ITVX
Tuesday December 24 – 8:45pm ITV1 & ITVX
Christmas Day – 7pm ITV1 & ITVX
Boxing Day – No episode
Friday December 27 – 8pm ITV1 & ITVX
Monday December 30 – 8pm ITV1 & ITVX
Tuesday December 31 – 8:15pm ITV1 & ITVX
New Year’s Day – 7pm ITV1 & ITVX