ITV Coronation Street star fumes soap is ‘too woke’ for hard-man character to return in damning swipe at show

Coronation Street legend Charlie Lawson has admitted he doesn’t think his soap character, Jim McDonald, would ever return to Weatherfield due to the show being “too woke”.

Lawson’s character was the jailbird ex-husband of Liz McDonald (played by Beverly Callard) and was known for his many prison stints, all whilst staying hopelessly devoted to Liz throughout the years.

Jim’s possessiveness and paranoia over Liz’s relationships with other men was at the forefront of their relationship for many years but they would always find a way back together.

In 2000, Jim was sent to prison for the manslaughter of drug dealer Jez Quigley (Lee Boardman) and was given eight years for his crime.

He returned to prison in 2011 after holding up a building society in order to give Liz enough money to buy the Rovers Return.

Lawson left his role in 2018, where his off-screen character is said to be living with his partner Hannah Gilmore (Hannah Ellis-Ryan).

The soap star recently addressed whether he would ever return to the role of Jim, but admitted he wouldn’t be surprised if the broadcaster killed him off instead.

Speaking to The Mirror, Lawson explained: “It wouldn’t shock me if he dies in Australia. I think it would be a terrible waste of a character, and I would stand up and have a pint and salute to him.

“But I wouldn’t be broken-hearted because I’ve been back seven or eight times, for Christ’s sake, since 2001 that’s pretty damn good as it’s 2024.

“Now I haven’t been back since 2018 but the whole world has changed since then into a crazy woke sort of… it’s all changed.

“I’m not quite sure how Jim would react to 24 genders in Weatherfield. I suspect he would probably – if the writers had the courage – I suspect he would probably say that that was nonsense.

“You don’t know where you’re at and what you can say or whatever, so the golden rule is just say it the way you used to say it.

“I confess, I don’t know anybody who has 24 genders, or whatever he may have, or she, or he, she, it or whatever, or identify as a pint of Guinness.

“I don’t know anyone like that but I would be just as confused, but I wouldn’t be uncomfortable, because I’d find myself saying, ‘Do you want to explain this a wee bit more?’ Do you know what I mean?”

Whilst Lawson admitted to leaving on good terms with soap bosses, the same can’t be said for his former co-star Bruce Jones, who played Les Battersby, after he was told by email his character would be killed off.

The news of Jones’ axing was confirmed by his on-screen wife Vicky Entwistle after she responded to a fan’s tweet about Les’s demise.”

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“I know Bruce told me a couple of months ago after receiving an email,” she said, with the decision to kill off his character being described as “a huge snub”.

An insider told The Sun: “It’s a huge snub to kill off a popular character like this. Bruce created one of the Street’s most iconic characters in Les and always hoped one day he might return.”

“A lot of the cast and crew have said it’s a bit mean. It’s also bound to infuriate long-term fans who remember Les with great fondness.”

Lawson said of the axing: “An email is cheap and cowardly in my opinion.”