Coronation Street's Michael Rodwell will be clobbered over the head with a crowbar this month.
Les Dennis as Michael Rodwell
The former convict - portrayed by Les Dennis - will be pushed into an early grave in the next coming weeks when he confronts his rival Pat Phelan (Connor McIntyre) about his plan to con his fellow residents out of cash in a mega-money flat scam.
A source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "Les was gutted when he found out Michael was being killed off. He took it like a man but obviously had hoped he'd be able to come back.
"Michael is going to confront Pat about the flat scam and get clobbered with a crowbar for his troubles."
Although Les is devastated he'll never be able to return, the 63-year-old actor felt he needed to walk away from the soap following two-and-a-half years to explore other projects.
Les' alter ego is just one out of six characters to leave the show this year as a "huge explosion" will tear through Weatherfield and claim the life of at least one well-loved resident.
A source said: "This is going to be up there with some of the best scenes in 'Corrie' history.
"Characters are going to be crawling through flames to escape, and there's talk of killing at least one character."
And Kate Oates, the show's new producer, has also reportedly lined up director Tony Prescott - who has worked on all of Coronation Street's live episodes - to ensure things go well.
The insider explained: "The plans being put together are huge and Kate bringing in Tony shows that it's going to be far from a straightforward one. Tony is considered one of the big guns of directing because he's great with complicated and intense storylines. Kate also loves a big stunt."
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