Shelley King, who plays Yasmeen Metcalfe, is understood to have filmed her final scenes for the show in December.
King spoke to producers early last year and advised that after 10 years which involved many major storylines, the time had come for her to explore other opportunities.
When contacted for comment, ITV said: “Shelley is an accomplished stage and television actress and we fully understand her desire to take her career in another direction after 10 years playing the same role.”
Yasmin has been one of my fave characters for years now, absolutely gutted to hear she’s leaving the street. Shelley King’s performance during the Geoff storyline was incredible and her comic timing still makes me chuckle. https://t.co/bsx4cBPqge
— Soiled Ballot (@soiledballot69) January 13, 2025
King will remain on Coronation Street until early spring.
During her time on the soap, King’s character Yasmeen has been involved in some major storylines.
This includes being coercively and physically abused by her husband Geoff who died in the plot, as well as being the grandmother-in-law of the soap’s first gay Muslim character.
Coronation Street fans react to Shelley King departure
There was some mixed reaction among Corrie fans to finding out Shelley King would be leaving the show.
Some were sorry to hear the news, as one posted to X (formerly known as Twitter): “Yasmin has been one of my fave characters for years now, absolutely gutted to hear she’s leaving the street.
“Shelley King’s performance during the Geoff storyline was incredible and her comic timing still makes me chuckle.”
Another said: “Sadly I saw this coming . Now Stu has gone there is nowhere for her character to go. Shelley King is phenomenal though and I can’t wait to see what she does next.”
However, some were in favour of the decision, as one viewer wrote: “Shelley King was brilliant in Coronation Street as Yasmeen, 4 years ago.
“Since then, she has had nothing interesting to do, and the character has become dull. So I think that this is another good decision.”
Another shared similar sentiments, saying: “The isolated characters are going one by one. Yasmeen was a good character but I can’t see Corrie missing her like they will Daisy. It’s not a blow it’s a natural progression.”
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King leaving the show comes after Colson Smith (who plays Craig Tinker), Sue Cleaver (Eileen Grimshaw), Luca Toolan (Mason Radcliffe) and Charlotte Jordan (Daisy Midgeley) recently announced their departures.
Meanwhile, actress Helen Worth’s character Gail Rodwell exited the cobbles during the Christmas Day special, after 50 years.
The on-air changes come amid reports that budgets for Emmerdale and Coronation Street have been cut, the PA News Agency reports.