Shelley King, who has played Yasmeen Nazir on Coronation Street since 2014 – has sensationally quit the long-running ITV soap after a number of other high-profile stars also walked away

Coronation Street star Shelley King has quit the soap after playing Yasmeen Nazir for an impressive 11 years.

Shelley, 69, first appeared on the cobbles in her role as Yasmeen back in 2014 but will exit Weatherfield later this year. It is believed she has already finished her filming and she will disappear from the soap after her final scenes have aired in March.

Shelley’s exit is the latest in a string of high-profile cast members who have exited Coronation Street amid reports the soap is struggling to work with its budget. Sue Cleaver, who plays Eileen Grimshaw, and Colson Smith, who has plays Craig Tinker, and others that are due to exit the soap in 2025.

There are fears soap fans will take the news of Shelley’s exit badly as she is something of a fan favourite due to her work as Yasmeen. However, there are hopes the star will now be free to appear in other projects now that she will be out of the rigorous filming schedule of the ITV show.

Shelley joined the cast as Yasmeen Metcalfe in 2014 ( 
Image:
ITV)

A source told The Sun: “This will be another blow for fans of the show, as Yasmeen is a much-loved character who’s part of the fabric of Corrie. She’s had some huge storylines since she joined the soap in 2014, and she’ll be sorely missed by cast and crew. It’s understood she is leaving so she can explore other projects.” The Mirror has contacted ITV for comment.

Earlier this month reports emerged to claim the ITV soap is “on it’s knees” and struggling to fund the show. Fan favourite characters are reportedly being axed in the hope of securing new talent and relying on younger cast who cost less to involve in the show.

Cast are reportedly unhappy with the behind-the-scenes changes, however, with the Daily Mail reporting last week: “In years gone by, stars would receive a standard fee per episode, which meant for major characters, they could rack up a very lucrative pay cheque. ”

It is expected that scenes in the Rovers Return can no longer be afforded to be stuffed with characters from the famous fictional street as the actors would need paid a fee even if they had just one line. A source previously told The Sun: “The cast loved the days when lots of scenes were filmed in the Rovers because it didn’t matter if you had 10 scenes in an episode or just sat in the pub – you’d get paid the same.

“Playing a barmaid or the landlord was a dream gig and would guarantee you got paid a fortune because it didn’t matter if you just served someone in the background – you got paid for the episode.” Fans have already noticed that major characters have been appearing far less in recent months.

Helen Worth, who played Gail Platt for 50 years and exited the show on Christmas Day 2024, featured in just 26 out of 304 episodes before her exit – while Mike Le Vell, who plays Kevin Webster, only appeared in 46 despite being part of a major cancer scare storyline.

Sally Ann Matthews, who has played Jenny Bradley since 1986, vented her frustration about her time on the show online recently. Revealing she took a last minute holiday last year, she explained: “I chose to get on an aeroplane because I’m particularly quiet at work. I’ve got, like, a million years off. So, I chose to go on an aeroplane and I chose to remember happier times.”