Coronation Street to kill classic character off-screen next month over 35 years after debut

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One of Coronation Street‘s most iconic characters is set to be killed off, off-screen, next month.

Coronation Street fans are saddened to learn that Charles Lawson, who played Jim McDonald from 1989 to 2018, has died.

Steve (Simon Gregson) will be upset to learn of his father’s death, especially since they had a falling out eight years prior and weren’t on good terms.

As fans may remember, Jim got away with a cruel scam, taking thousands of dollars from his ex-wife, Liz. He tricked her by pretending his girlfriend, Hannah, was actually their deceased daughter, Katie.

Throughout his three decades on the show, Jim was involved in many major plots. These included a period of temporary paralysis after a fall during a fight with Steve, and a prison sentence for accidentally killing Jez Quigley (Lee Boardman).

Viewers witnessed his eventual getaway, and later saw him involved in an armed robbery of a building society, which led to his imprisonment with Peter Barlow (Chris Gascoyne).

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According to a source, Jim’s death will cause major problems for Steve, who has recently become happy with Cassie Plummer (Claire Sweeney) after his wife Tracy (Kate Ford) had an affair with footballer Tommy Orpington (Matt Milburn).

I’ve been following the McDonald family for a while now, and with Sweeney moving on later this year, it feels like 2026 is already shaping up to be a really interesting time for them. I’m definitely curious to see what happens next!

I was really sad to hear that Liz won’t be coming back to the show. She moved to Spain in 2020 to be with their son, Andy, and it sounds like she’s settled there. Apparently, Beverley Callard, who plays Liz, has joined the cast of ‘Fair City’ over in Ireland, so it makes sense she won’t be returning to our show now.

Nigel Lawson, knowing his health is failing, now frequently appears as a commentator on GB News. While writing his memoir, ‘That’s Life, So It Is,’ last year, he discussed how few acting jobs he’d been offered and the money problems he’d struggled with.

Besides his many roles on Coronation Street, Lawson has also been in popular TV shows like The Bill, Doctors, Casualty, and Holby City. He also played Father Connolly in the ITV drama series Dark Heart.

Coronation Street airs weeknights at 8.30pm on ITV1 and ITVX.

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Authors

Michael AdamsSoaps Editor

Michael Adams is the Soaps Editor at TopMob, keeping fans up-to-date with the latest news and spoilers from all their favorite shows – including Coronation Street, EastEnders, Emmerdale, and Hollyoaks. Before joining TopMob, he worked as a Soaps Reporter at Metro for two years and even worked on the sets of Coronation Street and Emmerdale.

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2026-02-03 19:05