Joe Duttine has admitted it is unlikely his ‘Coronation Street’ character will marry Sally Metcalfe "anytime soon".
The 49-year-old actor recently admitted his alter-ego Tim Metcalfe’s planned nuptials to Sally – played by Sally Dynevor – had to be rewritten as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, but he now says talk of the wedding has "gone quiet".
He said: "There was talk of Tim and Sally marrying again, but it has all gone quiet on that front.
"I’m not sure if they’d have a socially distanced wedding, and I haven’t read anything that suggests they’ll get married anytime soon."
Tim and Sally already married once but it was declared void after he was revealed as a bigamist following a joke marriage to Charlie Wood (Sian Reeves) in Las Vegas in 2004, which Tim didn’t realise was legally binding.
But the character has come a long way since he first appeared in the cobbles in January 2013, when Joe admits he was only cast for an initial three-month period.
He said: "I was only supposed to be here for three months, but they kept asking me to stay, and I kept saying ‘yes’."
And Joe – who, in real life, is engaged to co-star Sally Carman (Abi Franklin) – admitted Tim and Sally were only initially put together to keep her "entertained" while her ex Kevin Webster (Michael Le Vell) was involved in a different plot.
Speaking to Inside Soap magazine, he added: "Writers put Tim and Sally together initially to keep her entertained while Kevin was off with a different storyline.
"I didn’t think it would last, but they clicked, and the writers really got hold of it.
"I like that, because in soap a lot of couples keep falling out and breaking up, so it’s good to see a monogamous couple."
Speaking about Tim and Sally’s wedding last month, Joe said: "They’ve had to rewrite a lot as we’re not having more than two or three people in a scene.
"Tim and Sally were supposed to be getting married, but with COVID-19 it will have to be a different type of wedding.
"It’s a shame, Tim’s horse has gone – I really fancied him riding into the reception on it!"