The future of Kate Ford's character on Coronation Street has been confirmed. Tracy Barlow has been a central figure in the ITV soap for many years but in surprising scenes on Monday night, she decided she wanted to follow her love interest Tommy Orpington to Spain.
At the beginning of the episode, she reunited with Steve McDonald, believing they could make their relationship work. Later, she discovered that Steve had destroyed the note Tommy left for her about his move to Spain, reports the Mirror.
She then decided to follow Tommy to Europe and leave Steve behind for good.
Viewers were taken aback when they saw Tracy leaving with Tommy. But is this the last we'll see of her?
Spoilers reveal that Tracy will be in tomorrow night's episode - which has been moved from its usual Wednesday slot - whilst Ken plans a farewell party for Tracy.
She comes home to collect her belongings and tells Ken, Amy, and Daniel that she'll miss them as she prepares to move to Spain with Tommy.
When Ken suggests going to the Rovers for one last drink, the trio raise a glass to Tracy's new beginning. Steve, sitting nearby, is clearly having a hard time and hides behind his newspaper, causing Amy to worry about him.
There's no word yet on whether Tracy, played by Kate Ford, will return to Coronation Street anytime soon, however, she does not feature in any of the upcoming storylines for this week.
Tracy has been a constant part of the show for many years - with her departure a significant one.
Meanwhile, Simon Gregson - who portrays Steve - is eager for his character to stick around on the famous cobbles. He's even suggested that Steve should start dating again.
"I think it would be great if we see Steve having to go down the route of speed dating, online dating," he said, jokingly adding: "Steve could have a full on mid life crisis, maybe we could see him losing weight, changing his appearance, going to the gym. It could be a lot of fun and also a great excuse for me to make some changes in real life!".
Simon isn't fussed about whether Steve finds love with an existing character or someone new. He concluded: "I think anyone will do. At this point in Steve's life he'd be lucky to have anybody! ... He gets why Tracy is attracted to Tommy, but he's just so upset that his idol has done this to him. I think there's so much going on at once that he's not properly put it together yet."
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