Faye Brookes: 'She needs a break' Coronation Street shares explanation after QUITTING

The actress, 31, told her 79,000 Twitter followers she was leaving to “explore new opportunities”. “Thanks to everyone for your amazing support, but after 4 fabulous years in Weatherfield it’s time for me to explore new opportunities,” the Coronation Street star said. “I’ve loved playing Kate Connor, but she needs a break for a little while and so with a song in my heart I’m off to pastures new.” Fans were shocked by Faye’s announcement, taking to the comments section on Twitter to share their reactions to the news.

“Gutted you’re leaving though,” one said, while another added: “I hate when all the good ones leave, nooo you can’t go!”

“Whoa everyone is leaving!” a third chipped in. “Well I wish you the best but ‘Kate’ is nothing without Rana so it’s best for your story to end (for now).”

Faye’s boyfriend, popstar Gareth gates, 34, showed his support for her by retweeting her post in view of his own 97,000 followers.

A Coronation Street spokesperson addressed Faye’s news in a statement, telling Express.co.uk: “Faye is a very talented actress who has put her all into the portrayal of Kate Connor for the past three-and-a-half years, we wish her every success for the future.

“She will be on screen until early autumn and the door will be left open,” they added.

Faye recently spoke out about Kate’s future in Weatherfield, telling Digital Spy: “It would be nice to see her happy, but I honestly don’t believe she’ll ever be the same again.

“She’s on edge and I don’t know where that could go,” she continued.

“Anything could happen and I love that about my job — it keeps you on your toes.”

News of Faye’s departure from Coronation Street comes after Tristan Gemmill, who plays Robert Preston, confirmed he was leaving the show last week.

He told his 22,000 Twitter followers: “Folks, I just wanted to let you know that the time has come for me to hang up the chef’s gear and head for pastures new.

“There is still a lot of drama and shenanigans to come for Robert but I will be leaving @itvcorrie later in the year.”

Recently on the soap, Faye’s character Kate suffered a devastating loss when her girlfriend Rana Habeeb (played by Bhavna Limbachia) died on their wedding day following the collapse of the factory roof.

The emotional scenes were the culmination of the long-running storyline of their relationship, which saw Rana struggle with her sexuality and religion, fighting for her family to accept her for who she was.

The heartbreaking end to Kate and Rana’s romance saw the latter trapped under debris as the building began to crumble around her after the Underworld roof caved in.

Kate managed to rush into the building in order to be there for her love’s final moments, the pair exchanging rings before Rana died.

Coronation Street continues tomorrow at 7.30pm and 8.30pm on ITV.

source: express.co.uk