Nick Cochrane "dreads" his 'Coronation Street' role being re-cast.

Nick Cochrane

Nick Cochrane

The 46-year-old star - who spent seven years on the ITV soap as Andy McDonald until his exit in 1987 - has made the occasional cameo appearance over the years, but he is concerned the cobbles bosses could bring the character back, but with another actor.

He told the 'Distinct Nostalgia' podcast: "What I dread is Andy coming back and it's not me because, let's be honest, that could happen, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."

'Corrie' - and soaps in general - don't shy away from recasting where necessary, as Dawn Acton played Tracy Barlow before Kate Ford took on the role, and Nick Tisley has been played by three actors, including current star Ben Price.

Cochrane - who has since appeared in panto and was seen in 'Doctors' last year - believes his cobbles departure came about partly because he didn't "mither" bosses for better storylines.

He added: "That's not my game and I think I was overlooked.

"I was picking up plenty of episodes because I was always in the Rovers in other people's episodes so it was easy money."

Meanwhile, he's also disappointed the timing of his Weatherfield exit didn't coincide with the explosion of celebrity reality TV shows.

He explained: "Timing was a bad thing.

"If I'd have been another five years, eight years later when you've got 'I'm A Celebrity', 'Celebrity Big Brother', celebrity cook shows, 'I'm a celebrity mowing my lawn'.

"I could have made a very good living out of not doing anything to be honest and being filmed doing it."