PC Jess Haywood (Donnaleigh Bailey) made a surprise return to Coronation Street this week, appearing at the Rovers Return after months away from the ITV soap.
The character, who first debuted in 2017 as the mentor of Craig Tinker (Colson Smith), quickly became a firm favourite with viewers. She was involved in several significant storylines, including being devastated in 2025 when Craig was murdered after being attacked by Mick Michaelis (Joe Layton) while on duty.
Arrest at the Rovers
Jess revealed she was at the pub to arrest Ollie Driscoll (Raphael Akuwudike) over assaulting Jake Windass (Bobby Bradshaw) recently. She escorted Ollie to the station before interviewing him, much to the shock of his family.
Fans reacted with delight to her return on X. One person wrote: "Glad to see Jess, we haven't seen her in ages! Hopefully she sticks around longer this time." Another added: "Oh there she is! Our Jess is back! Stunning queen."
Donnaleigh Bailey's soap history
A third fan echoed the sentiment: "Welcome back, Pc Jess Haywood; it's been a while." Someone else said: "Guess who's back, back again? Jess' back, tell a friend."
Before her Coronation Street stint, Donnaleigh appeared in Casualty, Crossroads and Holby City. She is best known to fans for her role as Michelle Corrigan in BBC's Doctors, which was axed in 2023 after more than 20 years.
Donnaleigh first appeared as Michelle in 2006 and remained on the Birmingham-based soap until 2010. She received two British Soap Award nominations for Best Actress for the role.
Earlier cobbles appearances
Before landing the role of Jess, Donnaleigh appeared on the cobbles as an unnamed nurse in 2015 at the Rosamund Street Medical Centre, tending to Simon Barlow (Alex Bain) after he cut his arm. A year later, she played PC Woodruff from April to December 2016, after which she was called back as Jess Haywood.
Coronation Street airs Monday to Friday at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
