Coronation Street legend Faye Brookes, who played Kate Connor in the long-running ITV soap from October 2015 to September 2019, says she is happy that the opportunity to return to the show is there, as her character wasn't killed off. However, she has no immediate plans to make a comeback. Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, the 38-year-old admitted fans still ask her if she will ever be back on the cobbles.

"I get a lot of, 'why is Kate not coming back?'" she laughed, speaking during a break from rehearsals for her latest project, the play Double Double, which is running from April 28 until May 30 in the Barn Theatre, Cirencester, Cotswolds. "I think that's a really lovely thing to have them want me to come back to Coronation Street, because I [Kate] didn't die. I'm still alive and travelling, and those doors left open, and also that's an opportunity to be had in itself," she said.

"But I do love being able to play other characters, and I really am continuing to stretch myself as an artist, and I want to keep doing that.

"I think going back...yes, that door is open, [and] if that is in my journey, great. But I love the fact that I am continuing with new projects, new characters, the fans are just as supportive," she smiled.

Kate still has family in Weatherfield, and her sister Carla Connor (Alison King) has just recently married on screen, so it is not implausible she may be asked back at some point, as it was one of her first jobs, and she confesses she is very grateful to the show.

"Coronation Street catapulted my career, so I never condemn it. I always celebrate it. And I think that's what the fans are doing for me at the same time. It's quite a lovely thing. I've been so lucky to have gained such a lovely following from my time at Coronation Street, and they've been nothing but supportive," she said.

In the meantime, she is teaming up with another Corrie alum Daniel Brocklebank, who recently departed the role of vicar Billy Mayhew after 11 years, for the thriller Double Double.

Described as My Fair Lady meets Dial M For Murder, the two-hander sees Daniel playing homeless and shabby Duncan, who is the doppelganger of Faye's character, Philippa's late husband.

When she finds him living on the streets and hatches a plan, as her husband needed to be alive to receive his multi-million-pound inheritance

Surprisingly, although they were on the cobblestones at the same time, this marks the first time they have ever properly performed together. "We actually never really worked with each other at Coronation Street," Kate reveals. "There's a cast of 80-odd people, and even though Dan was always there, we weren't necessarily together. I think I was pouring him a pint in the Rovers," she giggles.

Double Double, starring Daniel Brocklebank and Faye Brooks, is running at the Barn Theatre, Cirencester, from April 28 until May 30, with tickets available here.