Chris Gascoyne is returning to 'Coronation Street' as Peter Barlow for the funeral of his stepmother Deirdre Barlow.

Chris Gascoyne as Peter Barlow

Chris Gascoyne as Peter Barlow

Following actress Anne Kirkbride's death from breast cancer in January bosses are to honour her 42 years playing Deirdre by giving the character a storyline send-off from Weatherfield.

Chris left his role as Peter in November 2014 but is coming back to the cobbles to honour his friend Anne.

The 42-year-old actor told the Birmingham Mail newspaper: "We will be saying goodbye to Deirdre but also to Annie, so it is bound to be very emotional. I worked with Annie for 15 years and I loved her, she was a really lovely woman and I miss her."

Chris is set to be reunited with his soap family Ken Barlow (William Roache) and Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford) for a few episodes over June and he insists he had no hesitation in agreeing to come back for the tribute to Anne.

He said: "They asked me to go back to the street for a couple of episodes and of course I said yes ... It is only right that Peter would be there, and if I can I will always want to keep that continuity."

He added: "The show has been very good to me."