One Coronation Street veteran has secured a new year-long contract with dramatic storylines ahead including the Corriedale crossover

One of the stars of Coronation Street has just signed a fresh contract ahead of the Coronation Street/Emmerdale crossover, Corriedale.

Michael Le Vell, 61, revealed to The Mirror: “You can never take the job for granted. My contract was due in January and I’ve just been offered a new one, so I can breathe a sigh of relief for another year.

“But you can never look beyond that. They might say ‘you know what, we can’t write for you, we don’t know what to write for you anymore. Thank you and goodbye.’ That’s the nature of the beast.”

Broken and worn down after his battle with testicular cancer and losing wife Abi (Sally Carman) to his conniving brother Carl (Jonathan Howard), speculation is mounting amongst Corrie viewers that Kevin might be heading for a romantic reconciliation with former wife Sally (Sally Dynevor), reports the Mirror.

Michael explains: “People ask me all the time if I’d like Kevin to get back with Sally and I always say no. It’s because I love Sally and Tim together. I think they’re a great couple, so I wouldn’t want them splitting up, just so I can get back with Sally. I’d get back with Abi, because I love working with Sally Carman. I hope they find a way to reconcile them in 2026, but at this moment in time, that’s not on the cards either.”

What’s certain is a year packed with dramatic storylines lies ahead – beginning with Corriedale, the landmark crossover episode airing on January 5, which will witness Coronation Street and Emmerdale unite for the very first time. Michael remains tight-lipped about specific plot details, though he’s revealed his character’s family will be caught up in a catastrophic multi-vehicle collision on a rural road connecting both soap locations, following his on-screen sister Debbie’s (Sue Devaney) wedding celebrations.

He reveals: “It was an honour to be part of Corriedale because these things don’t come around too often. I was in a scene with a couple of Emmerdale actors – Jeff Hordley (Cain Dingle) and Danny Miller (Aaron Dingle) – as we tried to move a crashed car, which was great. The episode involved a lot of night shoots out on location and our trailers were next to each other, so the casts of the two shows were always having a cup of tea and a chat, which was fun. It’s very exciting; it was a great privilege to be a part of it.”

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As the second longest-serving cast member behind Bill Roache (Ken Barlow), Michael first stepped onto the cobbles of Weatherfield back in 1983. Despite his decades of experience, he still experiences pre-performance jitters, admitting: “Not a day goes by where I don’t get nervous. I get a churning stomach and I feel apprehensive, especially if I’m in every scene.

“It’s even more stressful if I’m in a scene with someone like Bill Roache or Barbara Knox – mainly out of respect – or if I’m in a big scene in the Rovers.

“If there are lots of people in the pub, when it comes to your bit, you’re thinking ‘don’t mess up, don’t mess up.’ Otherwise, they’ll all have to go back and do their dialogue again, so that’s an added pressure.”

However, he aspires to emulate Bill Roache, who continues to perform admirably at 93 years old.

He declares: “I’ll be in the show in my 70s, 80s and 90s, if they still want me. I’ve never been tempted to leave. I’ve had so many lines recently where Kevin’s said ‘I’m old, I’m grey.’ He even mentioned something about retiring the other week and I went ‘I don’t want to say that line, thanks very much!’

“As far as I’m concerned, I’m in the No 1 show. It’s the best job in television and if it’s not broke, why change it? I love the storylines and the people – great actors like Sally Dynevor, Sally Carman and Alan Halsall. They’re such a joy to work with that some days it doesn’t feel like a job. Although I’m not going to say that too loudly or they might stop my wages!”

Within three years of his arrival on the famous street, Kevin had wed Sally and the pair purchased number 13 from Hilda Ogden (Jean Alexander), subsequently welcoming daughters Rosie and Sophie.

He chuckles: “Jean Alexander was one of the show’s legends, but I remember her once telling me off. She asked me to sign a get well card for Bernard Youens, who played Stan. I’d just come out of filming a scene in the garage and I got a bit of oil on the card. She went mad at me!”

Kevin enjoyed a blissful relationship with Sally until his infidelity with Natalie Horrocks (Denise Welch) shattered their bond, followed by another affair that resulted in son Jack during a liaison with Molly, the spouse of his closest mate Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall). Since then, he’s accumulated two additional marriages – one to Alison Wakefield, who took her own life following their son Jake’s death, and now he’s separated from Abi.

Manchester-born Michael honed his skills at Oldham Theatre Workshop before making his television debut in Corrie at 15, portraying paper boy Neil Grimshaw. Three years later, he was discovered for the Kevin role whilst auditioning for comedy drama Scully.

He remembers: “I was waiting in the corridor and the casting director walked past and said ‘am I seeing you tomorrow for Coronation Street?’ I said ‘no.’ She said: ‘leave it with me.’ When I got home my agent rang and told me I’d got an audition the next day. I went in and got the part of Kevin and the rest is history. It’s been my life – I’ve grown up here. I’ve been Kevin Webster since I was 18, so at 61 I feel like an elder statesman of the show.”

Michael resides in Cheshire with fiancé Louise Gibbons, their trio of Yorkshire terriers and pair of Siamese cats. With a deep love for animals and rural life, they also keep two horses – Maximus and Magica.

“We’re very different,” Michael observes, drawing comparisons between himself and Kevin. “When I’m not working, I’m shovelling horse s**t, mucking out and filling hay nets at the stables.”

Discovering his passion for horses a decade ago alongside Louise during their joint riding lessons, he explains: “The horses give me serenity. When you’re riding, you can’t think about anything else. It’s the same with the dogs and cats. When I’m with them, they give me unconditional love, so I can’t help but give them unconditional love back.”

He’s even tried his hand at competitive equestrian events, revealing: “I’ve done alright. I won rosettes for dressage and that sort of stuff, doing little circles around the arena. But then I got a little bit bored of that, so I started having jumping lessons. I fell off twice. You don’t bounce the same when you’re my age. It really hurt. I mainly leave the riding to Louise now and I just do the mucking out and feeding.”

Throughout four decades of drama on the Corrie cobbles, Kevin has played the charmer, rescued Bet Lynch (Julie Goodyear) from flames at The Rovers, and thrown his fair share of punches.