Andy Whyment says ‘Coronation Street’ stars would have to return to filming by the middle of June to ensure the soap doesn’t go off air in the summer.
The 39-year-old actor – who has played Kirk Sutherland on the ITV soap since 2000 – is hoping he and his colleagues will be able to resume filming in Weatherfield in a couple of months, because the show only has enough episodes until early July, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
He said: "I think we’ve got until the beginning of July in the can. So we need to get back, hopefully, by the middle of June with a bit of luck.
"Otherwise it’s going to go off air. Hopefully we’ll get back.
"A lot of the airlines have said they’re going to start flying again mid-June, so, hopefully, if that’s going to happen then hopefully we should be able to get back to work with a bit of luck. Fingers crossed."
‘Corrie’ have reduced their weekly output from six episodes to three after filming was paused due to the coronavirus lockdown, and Andy admitted it was the "right thing to do" to stop shooting episodes.
He said: "We worked up until the Friday when Boris closed all the pubs and clubs, and we had the schedule up to the following Thursday.
"On the Sunday we had an email saying they were standing everyone down, which is fair enough.
"We were all saying we will carry on as long as we can, but I think work just felt that if all the pubs and clubs were shutting then it’s probably just the right thing for us to do to shut down."
While he has been on ‘Corrie’ for 20 years, the former ‘I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!’ star – who supports football team Manchester United – still gets "a buzz" from driving to work.
Speaking on Manchester United’s ‘MUTV Group Chat’ video, he added: "It’s great to be a part of. I still get a buzz now when I drive up to the gates.
"I’m a massive fan of the show. I grew up watching it as a kid, so to be there 20 years and hopefully many more years to come would be amazing."
Coronation Street stars ‘need to resume filming in June to ensure soap doesn’t go off air’
