List of Coronation Street characters introduced in 2026

Jodie Ramsey, portrayed by Olivia Frances-Brown, made her first appearance on 5 January 2026 in the special hour-long Corriedale crossover episode, where Coronation Street and fellow ITV1 soap Emmerdale crossover. Her casting was announced on 16 December 2025 when the full cast for the special episode was announced. When she first appeared in Corriedale, she was seen to be tied up and held hostage in the back of Graham Foster's (Andrew Scarborough) van. She managed to escape and ran into the woods where Kit Green (Jacob Roberts) called out for her, which caused her to turn around and lose her footing under a tree. She continued: "Fans have already picked up on the resemblance between Jodie and Shona, and the fact that Shona had previously mentioned having a sister." ==Vincent Harper==

Doctor Vincent Harper, portrayed by John Hollingworth, is a surgeon who performs a caesarean section on Shona Platt (Julia Goulding), who was 28 weeks pregnant. He first appeared on 7 January 2026 after travelling to Weatherfield from Bristol to perform the surgery. Harper then mentions Billy's sexuality after reading about his death in the paper, causing Bernie, who was Billy's mother-in-law, to give him the cold shoulder. ==Harper Platt==

Harper Platt is the newborn daughter of David (Jack P. Shepherd) and Shona Platt (Julia Goulding). She was born on 7 January 2026 via caesarean section at 28 weeks. In September 2025, Shona reveals to her husband David that she is pregnant, after David finds a positive pregnancy test in the bin and assumes that it belongs to his teenage daughter Lily Platt (Grace Ashcroft-Gardner). During their first scan in November 2025, Shona and David are informed that there is a large mass on the baby's neck, which may be cancerous. A special episode which examines both David's and Shona's perspectives of the pregnancy was broadcast on 12 November 2025, where it is confirmed that their baby has a cervical teratoma, and Shona will need to undergo an EXIT procedure to ensure her and the baby's best chances of survival. David and Shona are also offered the option of a termination, which David encourages Shona to consider, leading to tensions within their marriage when Shona refuses. In January 2026, David and Shona are involved in a multi-vehicle accident during the special hour-long Corriedale episode, where Coronation Street and fellow ITV1 soap Emmerdale crossover. Shortly after the crash, Shona goes into labour, and David suffers an epileptic seizure. After being transferred from Hotten to Weatherfield, Shona gives birth via caesarean section, and she and David name their baby Harper, after the surgeon who delivered her, Vincent Harper (John Hollingworth). Jodie is later revealed to be Shona's half-sister. ==Lee==

Lee, portrayed by Oscar Aldersley, made an appearance on 23 January 2026. He is a friend of Will Driscoll (Lucas Hodgson-Wale) and former student of Megan Walsh (Beth Nixon). His arrival was announced on 13 January 2026. When Lee arrives, it is revealed he was also groomed by Megan, who has been grooming Will. Aldersley's casting was announced to be a guest appearance as he posted that he had wrapped up filming on the same day his casting was announced. He posted on Instagram: "Wow what an experience! Thank you Coronation Street for this amazing opportunity. It's been a pleasure working with such an incredible team for the past couple of months! I'll hopefully see you all, back on the cobbles again soon!" Walsh, who plays Megan commented with praise: "Ahh had so much fun working with you! Can't wait to watch it on screen." ==Mal Roper==

Mal Roper, portrayed by Tim Treloar, is the husband of Alice, Roy Cropper's (David Neilson) pen-pal. Treloar's casting was announced on 21 January 2026 and he made his first appearance on 28 January 2026 when he arrives at ''Roy's Rolls''. Many fans recognised Treloar from othe roles he has played previously. Mal is due to show Brian Packham (Peter Gunn) a bag of crystals as he takes an interest to try and impress Bernie, who is interested in them and their properties, which annoys her. Bernie's son-in-law, Chesney Winter-Brown (Sam Aston) quizzes which crystal is his favourite, which he can't answer. A source reported: "Bernie just wants Mal to leave. Their wild night at the Chariot Square Hotel is one that she'd rather forget, but Mal is determined to stick around for as long as possible." The insider continued: "Although Mal claims that he's staying for work reasons – fixing the electrics at Roy's café – he seems to be worming his way into Bernie's life at every opportunity. Should she be worried?" ==Doug Ramsey==

Doug Ramsey, portrayed by Steve Evets, is the father of Shona Platt (Julia Goulding) and Jodie Ramsey (Olivia Frances-Brown). He appears on 9 February 2026, when Jodie visits him in hospital. ITV teased: "Shona, convinced Jodie is hiding something, follows her to a psychiatric hospital where Jodie tearfully introduced their confused, estranged father. Jodie explains how she was left to care for him after their mother fled. Shona is touched and assures Jodie she's part of the family now." ==Paula==

Paula, portrayed by Kelli Hollis, is a prison inmate of Debbie Webster (Sue Devaney) and Lou Michaelis (Farrel Hegarty). She has been described to be the "Queen Bee" inmate in the prison. She also told her followers whilst seated in her dressing room: "Oh my god! What a morning! So I'm here at Corrie, I'm exhausted, and it's not from working. I've done two scenes already this morning, I've got two more now this afternoon." She continued: "But I'm exhausted from seeing everybody. The amount of crew that I've worked with before on other jobs that are here, phenomenal! And then let's talk about the cast. So our beautiful Jane [Hazlegrove], I worked with her on Clink, she heard I was here, and she came running up. And the most handsome man ever, apart from my Martin, the gorgeous Aaron McCusker. He come bounding in picked me up spun me around. I've been made to feel so welcome. What a brilliant day so far." ==Connie Waring==

Connie Waring, portrayed by Aoife and Erin O'Neill, is the baby daughter of Rob Donovan (Marc Baylis) and Mandy Waring (Rebecca Atkinson), who is left on the doorstep of her aunt Carla Connor's (Alison King). She made her first appearance in March 2026 after a woman left her strapped in a car seat on the doorstep. King, who plays Carla, also told TV Times: "I think Carla's more fun around the baby. She's not sure what to do at first, but you'll see her come into her own and she starts to think: 'I'm fine. I'm doing well at this, actually'. She is away from the factory a bit and you'll see her juggling the baby and the job. There are some scenes where she has to take the baby into work, which were fun to film!" ==Melanie Driscoll==

Melanie Driscoll, portrayed by Cindy Humphrey, is the ex-wife of Ben Driscoll (Aaron McCusker) and the mother of Ollie (Raphael Akuwudike) and Will Driscoll (Lucas Hodgson-Wale). Humphrey's casting was announced on 14 April 2026 and her arrival would be part of Will's grooming storyline at the hands of athletics coach Megan Walsh (Beth Nixon). He said: "Yes, an ex-wife, and we've talked about my brother as well. It'll be interesting, there's lots of different directions it could go, and I'm very excited to see where it does go." As the story unfolds, the Crown Prosecution Service haven't got enough evidence to prosecute Megan, who is set to face no charges. Whilst Ollie, Ben and Melanie's older son points the finger at Ben, Melanie blames Ben's mother Maggie Driscoll (Pauline McLynn) for not protecting Will. A source told Digital Spy: "Will's grandmother Maggie is shocked when she finds Melanie in the Bistro – although it was probably only a matter of time before she made an appearance. Melanie doesn't hold back, accusing Maggie of failing to protect Will when he needed her. Although Maggie doesn't know what else she could have done, it's tough to talk round Melanie, who claims that she's allowed him to become a victim of child grooming." Ollie later reveals that he is responsible for getting in contact with Melanie. The source continued: "The timing of Melanie's visit is certainly interesting. Maggie has always been the family member who's most willing to cross the line when it comes to bringing down Megan." ==Idris Nazir==

Idris Nazir, portrayed by Junade Khan, is a cousin of Alya Nazir (Sair Khan). His casting was announced on 3 May 2026 and would debut in the weeks to follow. He will be introduced as a new love interest for Leanne Battersby (Jane Danson), whose actress previously called for her to have a second chance of love. Executive producer Kate Brooks spoke about Idris' character: "Idris is very charming – the charm oozes out of every pore of this guy! He's a savvy businessman and he's got a bit of a ruthless streak. He's not ready to get his hands even slightly dirty! But he can charm the birds from the trees." Daniel Kilkelly from Digital Spy suggested that Idris' arrival would be a "new chapter" for Leanne after her ex-partner Nick Tilsley's (Ben Price) affair with her stepsister Toyah Habeeb (Georgia Taylor). Brooks continued: "Idris is a new love interest for Leanne. The attraction is instantaneous. It gives Leanne a new lease of life. She's been harbouring a deep-rooted resentment towards Toyah and Nick, because that's the life she had. But then this guy comes along – he's got it all and he makes her laugh. He's funny, he's a handsome chap and he ruffles a lot of feathers, but he's not without an edge. He’s not soft and he's certainly no pushover. He butts heads with some of our more alpha characters quite early on. We're really excited about Idris – he's brilliant." Kilkelly described Idris' arrival to "provide a welcome distraction". Jane Danson, who plays Leanne, previously suggested a badboy as a new love interest for her character. She spoke about it at the Inside Soap Awards in December 2024: "Do you know what, there aren't a huge amount of possibilities! We're a bit short on the men front. I think long-term she needs a Cain Dingle - I think he should hotfoot it over from Emmerdale, have a pint in the Rovers and have a thing with Leanne!" ==Ross==

Ross, portrayed by Ian Burfield, is the estranged father of Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall). His casting was announced on 4 May 2026 and he would debut in the following weeks. Sayce also described Burfield's casting to "add another soap to his belt" after appearing as three different police officers in EastEnders, his most prolific being DCI Peter Arthurs between 2018 and 2024, as well as The Bill. Brooks spoke about Ross' arrival: "Tyrone's dad makes an appearance in the show. Needless to say, he comes with quite a bit of drama. It's going to cause quite a lot of friction within that family, obviously with Cassie's history." She continued: "As you know, Cassie's leaving us, and so it will contribute to her exit, which is going to be massive and quite explosive. It'll be full of all the twists and turns that you can come to expect from an exit story." Brooks also spoke about how Ross will try to build a relationship with Tyrone: "He comes into the world of Fiz and Tyrone. Tyrone's in the mindset of: 'I'm in my 40's, I've survived this long without a dad!' But the dad is very keen to connect with Tyrone." Brooks also teased a possible relationship for Ross: "It's not long before he makes eyes at one of the residents - maybe a relationship starts there. It really shines a spotlight on Fiz and Tyrone as a couple and that family dynamic. Cassie is, needless to say, not happy that this guy has turned back up!" ==Other characters==