Why Coronation Street’s Mollie Gallagher left for new career

Speaking exclusively to Digital Spy she revealed why she left and why it was crucial that her character Nina wasn’t killed off in the soap opera.

Leaving the cobbles meant Mollie could turn her attention to theatre where she makes her professional debut as Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs which is touring the UK.

Former EastEnders star John Partridge and ex-Emmerdale actor Oliver Farnworth, who Mollie hadn’t met before, are also part of the cast.

Why Mollie Gallagher left Coronation Street

When asked by Digital Spy if she left Corrie to pursue a theatre career, Mollie said: “Yeah, it was a tricky one because I love Corrie so much.

“I love everyone there and I love Nina, too.

“When I graduated from drama school and got the audition for Corrie, I thought that Nina was a dream character for me to play.

“I was really passionate about portraying this alternative character.

“We kept her quite similar the whole time, which was important to me.

“I never wanted Nina to lose her goth look and who she is – I think the audience have always really appreciated that.

“So it was a really hard situation, but as an actor, you do want to challenge yourself by trying new things.

“This new job is completely different because it’s theatre.

“It was sad – in an ideal world I’d be doing both, but that just wouldn’t work!”

Why was Nina Lucas not killed off when Mollie Gallagher left Corrie?

When asked why she didn’t want her Corrie character to be killed off, she said: “I would not have been able to deal with that!”

She added: “Nina is such a unique character and I think there’s so much to do with her.

“That’s why I don’t think her story is over.

“There’s her art – when she came into the show, she was really talented. I wanted to explore more of that.

“Obviously there’s the brilliant relationship with Roy, too.

“I think that’s my favourite part of being at Corrie – Nina and Roy. So I hope that it isn’t the end.”

On why she wanted to be part of the cast for The Silence of the Lambs, she explained: “Number one, I love theatre.

“When I was growing up and doing drama, it was all about being on stage and that is how I fell in love with it.

“This is my first professional theatre job, which is something I’ve always wanted to do, alongside TV of course.

How many of these emotional Coronation Street storylines do you remember?

“Also, The Silence of the Lambs is one of the greatest films ever and I’m a massive horror and psychological thriller fan.

“So when this came up, it couldn’t have been anything better for me, really.”

The Silence of the Lambs starts on Saturday, August 1, with the first show of the UK and Ireland tour being at Leicester’s Curve theatre.

Do you miss Mollie Gallagher’s character Nina Lucas? Tell us your favourite Coronation Street characters in the comments below.