Coronation Street star Matt Milburn has shared his hopes for Tommy Orpington to make another comeback – seven months on from the character’s surprise break-up scenes. Tommy’s relationship with Tracy Barlow ended in acrimony earlier this year, but the door remained open for a possible return.

Matt has now reflected on his Corrie role – and the possibilities for the future – in an exclusive interview with Soap Scoop, the weekly podcast from Inside Soap magazine with cast chats every Tuesday.

Speaking about his character’s fate, Matt enthused: “There’s room for Tommy to come back! He’s not been killed off. Corrie for me, it’s up there as one of the top jobs. For me personally, it’s perfect.

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“You know, I’m a Manc. My family’s from Manchester, it’s filmed in Manchester. Logistically it’s always been great for me as well. I get to see all my family whilst I’m there doing filming.

“It’s such an iconic show and I think if you’re an actor from the north, particularly my age as you’ve grown up with Corrie, I think you’d be mad if it wasn’t on your bucket list of jobs to do.

“I’m really thankful that I’ve had the opportunity to go there and be given a role on it. You never know – there might be a window to come back in the future. Who knows?”

Matt made his first appearance as Weatherfield County footballer Tommy in 2016 and appeared sporadically over the next few years. In late 2023, he returned for a more high-profile storyline as Tommy started a surprise affair with Tracy after being hired as a decorator at No.1.

Tommy and Tracy’s fling ultimately developed into a more serious relationship and even a surprise move to Spain. However, their differing priorities ultimately tore them apart – as Tracy insisted on moving back to Weatherfield when Tommy wanted them to relocate to Southampton for his latest football coaching job.

Asked who he’d want to interact with if he returned again, Matt replied: “I think Jacob [Roberts] who’s playing Kit’s doing a great job. I’ve known him from the past.

“It’d be good to come in and ruffle a few feathers with him if I came back. I think it would be quite fun. It’d be fun to get involved with a few of the new characters as well.”

In the meantime, though, Matt is currently busy away from Soapland – starring as Sy Spector in a new theatre tour of The Bodyguard.

“It couldn’t be a more contrasting character to Tommy, I suppose,” he said. “He’s a little bit impatient, a little bit darker, a lot of fun to play. And it’s the first time I’ve ever done a musical before! It’s all new things, but I’m really enjoying the process so far.”

Hit play below for the full interview with Matt, which features plenty more memories and gossip from his roles on Coronation Street and Hollyoaks, as well as all the details of the new Bodyguard role.

Full details on tickets and tour dates for The Bodyguard can be found here. Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.

Read more Coronation Street spoilers on our dedicated homepage

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