Coronation Street Star Admits He Was 'happy To Leave' After Making ITV Soap History

Todd Boyce has told the Soap from the Box podcast that he was “happy” to leave Coronation Street after playing Weatherfield serial killer Stephen Reid on and off for three decades

Todd Boyce of Coronation Street said he was “happy” to be off the show.

For nearly 30 years, the 62-year-old American actor alternated between playing Weatherfield villain Stephen Reid. In 1996, he made his screen debut as Sue Nicholls’s son, Audrey Roberts.

He first left the cobbles in 1997, but made a brief comeback in 2007. He then reappeared in 2022 and 2023, returning once more before being murdered off by Peter Barlow (Chris Gascoyne) in 2023.

Todd’s character Stephen wanted to harm people and was accountable for three fatalities during his last spell on Corrie. Even while he was happy to have been handed such an engaging plot, he acknowledged that the demanding filming schedule was wearing him out.

“I think I broke the record for the number of episodes in a 12-month period,” he said in an interview with host Lee Salisbury on the Soap from the Box podcast. I completed 193 episodes, and I believe Mikey North’s character Gary Windass is on roughly 163. There were 193 busy episodes, so I was on the ropes, so I was relieved to complete.

“I did have the odd scene which wasn’t about me and it was a bit boring as I wanted it to be about Stephen but I became very spoiled and greedy and I was certainly given things to do, which was brilliant.”

Along with remembering his first day on set at ITV 28 years ago, Todd also mentioned how supportive his on-screen mother, sister, and love interest were. He stated: “I had to portray Amanda Barrie because I was surrounded by love and support from the beginning, thanks to Sue Nicholls and Helen Worth (who plays Gail Platt). These three women were the ones that essentially adopted me.

“On my first day, I seem to recall that someone wanted to take me to lunch. Sue, Helen, and Amanda advised not to speak to him because they thought he might have a tape recorder on. He will stay anonymous. He will leak anything you don’t want discussed, so don’t say anything at all. They had my back and were simply amazing. They and pretty much everyone else made me feel comfortable.”