Coronation Street actor set for I'm A Celebrity stint? 'He's an obvious choice'
CORONATION STREET could see another of its home head into the jungle later this year as one actor is hotly tipped to be a contestant on I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!.
Shayne Ward praises Corrie producer for tackling tough storylines
It has been reported that Shayne Ward, who played Aidan Connor on Coronation Street, could be going down under.
The actor left the screen last week as his character took his own life in a tragic male suicide storyline.
If he went on the star in I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! he would be following in the footsteps of Jennie McAlpine, who plays Fiz Brown, as she starred on the contest last series.
An insider told The Sun: ”Shayne has built up a huge and loyal fan base at Corrie and his exit storyline has been talked about up and down the country.
"But behind the scenes he’s also considered one of the nicest men in soap with a quirky sense of humour that would work well in the jungle camp.
“We think he’s an obvious choice for the new series as he ticks a lot of boxes.
"It would also give him a chance of letting fans get to know him a bit more as he continues his career away from Weatherfield."
As well as his soap career, Shayne is also known for being the winner of the X Factor back in 2005.
Fans lauded the actor for his final scenes which saw the lead up to Aidan taking his own life.
In an appearance on Loose Women last week, Shayne opened up about the storyline.
He said that producer Kate Oates approached him just before Christmas and said: “We’ve got this idea.”
He continued: “Instantly I was scared because there was a decision I had to make - could I do this storyline justice?
“I spoke to my family, my partner, and Kate and decided I needed to do it.”
Shane also spoke on the impact the hard-hitting plot could have.
He said: “I knew this was bigger than me, and bigger than the show and I knew that, yeah, this was going to be quite emotional.
“I had a great meeting with Kate and CALM because it needs to be handled with respect.
“So I knew there was a huge challenge ahead because I needed to capture that and portray it to the public.”
He also touched upon the criticism Kate had faced for telling gritty stories on the soap.
Shane explained: “The storylines that she has done have got a lot of attention. I think this is one of the best things you have done for the show, and with the platform that you have had.
“I think it’s really important to talk and it shows that [the story] has done something.
“Talk because your voice will be heard.”
Coronation Street continues tonight at 7.30pm on ITV, I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here returns to ITV later this year.
For confidential support call the Samaritans in the UK on 116 123 or visit a local Samaritans branch.