Lucy Fallon always intended to return to 'Coronation Street'.
Lucy Fallon will be seen on screens as Bethany Platt from January 2024
The 28-year-old actress was cast as Bethany Platt in the ITV1 soap opera in 2014 and departed the show in early 2020 but amid filming scenes for her comeback - which is due to air in January - she admitted it was the "right time" to return, especially after she welcomed baby Sonny, 11 months, with partner Ryan Ledson.
She told The Daily Star newspaper: "I think I said from the beginning when I was asked that question, I said ‘Never say never’. I wasn’t leaving with the intention that I would never go back. I always said to my family, ‘Oh when I go back in five years' time or whatever...’ That was always the conversation. So, I did always see that [happening] anyway.
"And I think having a baby, it’s nice to be able to come home to him and have a job as well. So yeah, I feel like it was just the right time for me."
Lucy - who since quitting the soap has starred in ITV drama 'Tom Jones' and won an episode of 'All-Star Musicals' - saw her character leave to pursue a journalism career in London but teased that "something has happened" there that has "forced" her to return to Weatherfield.
She said: "There is something that’s happened in London that has kind of forced her to come back but she’s not revealing that straight away. She’s being a bit secretive about why she has come back. I'd say she’s quite career focused.
"She’s very driven in her career, very desperate to pursue this journalism career that she started in London. I think she’s grown up quite a lot. I feel like the last time we saw her she probably felt a bit more like a young girl whereas I think now she seems more like a woman. I think she’s grown up a lot, but she has the same morals as before."