Coronation Street legend Philip Middlemiss will return to acting after ten years.
The actor, 60, best known for playing bookie Des Barnes on Coronation Street between 1990 and 1998, will return as an actor in another soap.
Swapping Weatherfield for Letherbridge, Philip will take on the role of DI Travis Lennox in the popular BBC series Doctors.
However, the role may be short-lived as the BBC is axing the long-running daytime soap, saying it is too expensive to continue making the drama.
It is not the first time that the actor appears in the series, as he once played the character of Frank Pickard in a 2014 episode.
Coronation Street legend Philip Middlemiss to return to acting after ten years (pictured in 1990)
The actor, 60, best known for playing bookie Des Barnes in Coronation Street between 1990 and 1998, will return as an actor in another soap (pictured with co-star Amelia Bullmore in 1990).
During his Coronation Street days, the actor played newlywed Des Barnes, who arrived on the famous cobbles alongside his on-screen wife Steph, played by Amelia Bullmore, also 60.
Amelia’s character Steph left the regular cast in 1991, however Philip’s character Des enjoyed a longer run, as the bookie remarried Natalie Horrocks, played by Denise Welch, 66 years old, in 1998.
During the soap, love rat Des made a heartbreaking exit from the show when he tried to intervene when a group of men attacked his stepson, Tony Horrocks, played by Lee Warburton, 52.
After being knocked unconscious, Des appeared to be recovering in hospital, however, he died of a heart attack.
After leaving Coronation Street, Philip starred in the ITV series Where The Heart Is from 2000 to 2006, where he played David Buckley.
He also appeared as himself on shows such as Blankety Blank and Noel’s House Party.
In 2010 he appeared on an episode of Celebrity Come Dine With Me, which also featured former Coronation Street stars Julie Goodyear, 82, Ken Morley, 81, and Tupele Dorgu, 46.
However, two years later, the actor found himself bankrupt after a film he had invested all his life savings into in 2008 failed to take off due to the financial crisis.
By forcing Philip to accept money from family and friends, he told the Manchester Evening News: “I partly financed it myself, but I didn’t have the money to finance the rest of the film.”
During his Coronation Street days, the actor played newlywed Des Barnes, who arrived on the famous cobbles alongside his on-screen wife Steph, played by Amelia Bullmore, also 60.
Amelia’s character, Steph, left the regular cast in 1991; However, Philip’s character Des enjoyed a longer period, as the bookie remarried Natalie Horrocks, played by 66-year-old Denise Welch (both pictured in 1998).
Philip was seen on Loose Women in April.
“Filming stopped completely. They were almost three-quarters of the way along the line. It has been a difficult time. Three and a half years is a long time to finance myself without any income.
He then revealed: ‘I’ve had to get money from family and friends.’
It comes after Philip looked a long way from his soap character during an appearance on Loose Women last month.
She appeared on the show sporting short white hair, which was much lighter than the brunette locks she sported on the cobbles.
She looked in good spirits as she wore a stylish black jacket over a white top this week.
