Coronation Street fans have been asking themselves the same question as one actor has been “replaced.” Viewers were confused earlier in the week when an unfamiliar face showed up on screen. This week has been action-packed on the cobbles as Mick Michaelis made a dramatic escape from prison and caused havoc for the residents of Weatherfield.
Mick arrived on Coronation Street earlier this year alongside his wife Lou and their three children, Brody, Joanie and Shanice. However, Mick was quick to ruffle feathers as viewers learned about his intertwined past with P.C Kit Green. The troublemaker has now been put behind bars for killing Craig Tinker in heartbreaking scenes last month.
On Monday, Mick escaped from prison and headed straight to Weatherfield High in search of his daughter Joanie. However, he ran in to Lily (Grace Ashcroft-Gardner), Sam (Jude Riordan) and Hope (Isabella Flanagan) who were terrified.
But viewers were distracted when one of the high school students looked particularly unfamiliar. After a few scenes passed by, soap fans soon realised the mysterious new girl was in fact Lily Platt, who had been “recast” and replaced with a new actress.
Taking to social media just minutes into the episode, one fan questioned: “Is that a Lily recast?” A second wrote: “New Lily Platt on the street. When did that happen?” Viewers were provided with more of an insight into the new Lily Platt on Wednesday, when she went to the hairdressers to see her dad.
Lily Platt, the daughter of David and Kylie, was played by Brooke Malonie for almost a decade. But Grace Ashcroft-Gardner has now silently taken over the role and was placed immediately at the deep end as Mick Michaelis roamed the school corridors in search of his daughter.
Jude Riordan, who portrays Sam Blakeman on the ITV soap, recently took to social media to share some behind the scenes snaps, while also welcoming the “newbies” to the cast.
He captioned the selection of photos: “Corrie lately, welcome to the newbies @grace.ashcroftgardner @savanna_pennington and @mollykilduff_ Good times.” Grace Ashcroft-Gardner commented: “Love working with you!!!”
However, soap fans immediately took to the comments after noticing the “new Lily” in cast photos. One follower questioned: “What happened to the old Lily?”
A second said: “I didn’t realise we had a new girl playing ‘Lily’. Looking forward to seeing her over the coming months/years.” A third said: “I was surprised by the new Lily.”
Another added: “Love your pictures Jude and I really love Grace who plays new Lily and Savanna who plays Joanie so much because they’re my favourite characters.”
It isn’t the first time Coronation Street bosses have replaced Lilly since the character was born in 2013. Twins Ava and Lilly Bushell portrayed the Platt’s daughter from birth, before Betsie and Emmie Taylor took on the role in 2014 for two years.
Coronation Street provided no warning for the character change, as the new Lily was brought in just in time to play a major role in a distressing storyline. Gracie was seen for the first time when she was sat at the bus stop alongside Sam and Hope on Monday, July 14.
One of the main storylines on the soap this week is based around Lily and Sam. As killer Mick roamed the high school, Lily hid in a classroom. But she refused to let Sam in, leaving him to face Mick in the corridor alone.
When Nick found out what Lily did, he was furious. He went to David to ask him to talk to Lily, with Leanne, Toyah and Sam there for support. But Lily denied the whole thing, claiming she didn’t do anything wrong.
As Lily grows into her teenage years, soap fans are questioning if she will become more and more like her troublesome dad, David Platt.