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'Coronation Street' reveals new Todd Grimshaw actor ahead of character's return

Todd Grimshaw is returning to the cobbles, now played by Gareth Pierce. (ITV/Mark Bruce)
Todd Grimshaw is returning to the cobbles, now played by Gareth Pierce. (ITV/Mark Bruce)

Coronation Street have unveiled the new Todd Grimshaw as the part has been recast ahead of the character’s return to the cobbles.

Gareth Pierce will now be playing the role after original actor Bruno Langley was axed from the soap following accusations of sexual assault, which he later plead guilty to in court.

The character was last seen in late 2017 when he kidnapped Billy Mayhew's (Daniel Brocklebank) goddaughter Summer (Matilda Freeman) after her grandmother Geraldine (Lynne Verrall) tried to gain custody of her.

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He was later found by police but assaulted an officer and fled the scene on his own.

Todd Grimshaw's return is sparked by a letter. (ITV/Mark Bruce)
Todd Grimshaw's return is sparked by a letter. (ITV/Mark Bruce)

The storyline of his return will begin to kick off in next week's episodes as a letter arrives from Todd asking for money.

His mother Eileen (Sue Cleaver) is off in Thailand visiting his brother Jason (Ryan Thomas), so Mary (Patti Clare) and Sean (Antony Cotton) inform Billy after reading the letter and the trio set off to track him down.

Welsh-born Pierce's other roles have included Gavin Moss in The Archers and Lenny Mack in Sky One's Stella. He also starred in Ordinary Lies and Hinterland for BBC.

He said of his new part: “I’m thrilled to be joining such an iconic show, and to have been entrusted with taking Todd forward into some really exciting storylines.

Bruno Langley's contract on the soap was terminated in 2017. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Bruno Langley's contract on the soap was terminated in 2017. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

"It’s an honour to be part of the dedicated Coronation Street team in such unprecedented times.”

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Langley played the role of Todd, the ITV soap's first openly gay character, on and off for 16 years.

He plead guilty to sexually assaulting two women at a music venue in Manchester in 2017. He was given a 12-month community order after appearing in Manchester magistrates court.