Corrie's Jack P Shepherd demands changes to Gail's final scenes for heartbreaking reason

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They’ve played mother and son for 25 years but now Jack P Shepherd is ready to say goodbye to the woman he calls Mum on Coronation Street.

After an incredible 50 years playing Gail Platt, Helen is leaving and actor Jack, who first starred as David Platt aged 12 in April 2000, made sure she got a fitting send off. “Her last scene filming was with me and Julia in the Platts,” Jack explains. “And I said, ‘No no, the last scene she films has to be with all the Platts.’” To his surprise, Jack was told there wasn’t a scene written where the family were all together. “Well f******g write one!” says Jack, laughing as he recalls his conversation with producers. “Just make sure we’re all together in the Platts for when she finally goes,” and so they did. “Luckily they were able to do it and schedule it so we were all together, and every unit broke,” he explains. “It was very emotional for the whole building.There were 500 people in the studio who came down to say goodbye, I’ve never seen that before.” Jack reveals humble Helen, who announced her decision to leave the soap earlier this year, didn’t want a fuss, but he assured her: “It’s not so much for you.

It’s for the building. It’s for everyone.” After the emotional goodbye in front of the cameras, the cast had an after party in Nick’s Bistro where Helen’s on screen children Jack, Ben Price, and Tina O’Brien delivered a speech that had the whole room in tears. "We gave a little speech, and that made us all cry.