Charlie Lawson claims ‘Coronation Street’ bosses had to "completely rewrite" his comeback storyline because they didn’t check how long he was available for.
The 59-year-old star reprised his role as Jim McDonald earlier this month and while he will only be on screen until October, he says ‘Corrie’ bosses wanted him for a year but he had already signed up to star in play ‘Rebus’, so they had to change the scheduling around.
He said: "The scheduling didn’t work too well. ‘Corrie’ asked me back for a year but I had accepted ‘Rebus’ by that point.
"They said, ‘What do you mean, no?’ when I told them I couldn’t do it, so I explained I was doing ‘Rebus’ and they should have checked earlier.
"There’s a general assumption in TV that you are available but that’s not the case with me.
"They had to completely rewrite the storyline because I was only available from June to August."
Charlie hinted he is open to returning to the cobbles in 2019, but he isn’t sure if new ‘Corrie’ boss Iain MacLeod will want him back.
He said: "There was talk of me going back next year, but Iain might have his own agenda, so I don’t know if that will still happen."
Charlie has played Jim in five different stints since he made his cobbles debut in 1989, and while he doesn’t take the role "for granted", he admits he can play the part "standing on [his] head".
He added to The Sunday Post newspaper: "Going back to play Jim is like putting on an old wax shooting jacket – it’s something very familiar.
"I’ve been back about six times since I originally left, but it’s not something I take for granted or expect to happen every few years – they could just as easily kill me off.
"I can do ‘Corrie’ standing on my head. I know it so well and my character and the characters of Liz and Steve, but this [‘Rebus’] is a real challenge."
Jim’s return storyline has come under fire from some ‘Corrie’ super-fans after he returned to Weatherfield with his so-called daughter Katie, who is now going by the name Hannah Gilmore (Hannah Ellis Ryan).
But Jim and Hannah were revealed to be lovers, rather than father and daughter, last week, and they are aiming to con wife Liz McDonald (Beverley Callard) and his son Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson) out of money by claiming she needs treatment for myotonic dystrophy, the same condition Jim has.
Charlie Lawson: Jim’s Corrie return was ‘completely rewritten’
