Coronation Street actor Ian Kelsey has said he would welcome the chance to join other leading soaps, including EastEnders or Hollyoaks, nearly a decade after his character Vinny Ashford was killed off.
Speaking to HeartBingo, as reported by the Daily Star, the actor reflected on his time on the ITV soap and discussed his future ambitions in the genre.
Praise for co-star Connor McIntyre
When asked whether he enjoyed his arc in the ITV soap, Kelsey offered glowing praise. He replied: "Of course, it was amazing to be a part of. Connor (McIntyre) is the absolute opposite of his character, too. He's one of the loveliest people I've ever met in the business. It was an absolute joy to work on that show. It really, really was."
Discussing whether he remains in contact with anyone from Coronation Street, the actor revealed he visited Connor at his art studio in Plymouth following the completion of his motorbike test, riding down to see him.
Open to new soap roles
Despite his character's fatal departure from the cobbles, the actor revealed he would welcome the chance to join other leading soaps including EastEnders or Hollyoaks. Ian said: "Yeah, absolutely. I just haven't had the opportunity to audition for EastEnders yet, so I'm not ruling that out. Who knows what's around the corner? Somebody might read this interview and think of me."
Kelsey first rose to prominence when he joined Emmerdale in 1994, playing the charismatic young farmhand Dave Glover.
Fatal endings and Casualty memories
Tragically, Dave perished after rushing into a burning Home Farm to save baby Jamie Tate. Yet Dave and Vinny aren't Ian's only characters to have suffered fatal endings. In Casualty, his character Dr Patrick Spiller succumbed to a pulmonary embolism, while his character Howard Bellamy in Doctors met the same fate.
Discussing which soap had the most vibrant social scene, Ian remarked: "Casualty was a big party job. It really was. It was hell for me because I had tons of Latin to learn. I was playing a registrar working in AandE, so I had massive chunks of medical jargon that I had no idea what I was saying. I just had to learn it, parrot fashion. And if you went up to Bristol to work on Casualty, you'd better be prepared to go out! We'd drag the guest artists out all the time."
Coronation Street is available to watch on ITVX.
