Coronation Street legend leaving Weatherfield after 20 years for devastating reason

Coronation Street favourite Dev Alahan will leave the Cobbles after 26 years on the ITV soap after he gets some worrying news - but will he return to Weatherfield?

Coronation Street stalwart Dev Alahan, played by Jimmi Harkishin, is set to bid farewell to the Cobbles following some distressing news. Having been a central figure in numerous major storylines on the ITV soap for over two decades, Dev will soon pack his bags and head to India.

It comes after yet another change to Corrie, after ITV announced a new schedules for its soaps is coming in 2026. The Corrie cast is also undergoing some major changes at the moment.

Upcoming scenes will see Dev learning about his aunt Gita's fall, prompting him to rush to his family's side in India. He leaves behind his partner Bernie, portrayed by Jane Hazlegrove, and his children Aadi and Asha.

Upon breaking the news to Bernie, she expresses her desire to accompany him - but will she?

Meanwhile, Aadi has been entrusted with running the kebab shop and the corner shop in Dev's absence. The question remains: when will Dev return?

This new plot twist coincides with plans to reduce the number of episodes of the ITV soap, reports the Mirror.

For the remainder of this year, Coronation Street will continue to air hour-long episodes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. However, from 2026, it will switch to airing half-hour episodes daily.

Dev is set to go to India to visit family

This change will result in Coronation Street broadcasting 30 minutes less each week, a fate shared by Emmerdale. The Thursday hour-long episode of Emmerdale will be cut down to just half an hour starting from January.

ITV's big boss Kevin Lygo has spoken out about the major changes hitting our favourite soaps, revealing: "This new commissioning pattern will mean five hours of soaps a week, rather than the current six. We are conscious this will have an impact for the people who work on the soaps team. We will support our colleagues in ITV Studios as they work through these changes, and will do what we can to mitigate the impact on our people. These changes are motivated by doing what we believe is best for the continuing success of these important programmes in the long term. They also create headroom in the overall programme budget for investment in programming that can help ITV grow reach in a very very competitive market."

In other news, Corrie's Dev has been a rock for his partner Bernie after the heart-wrenching loss of her son Paul to motor neurone disease, with the emotional scenes broadcast last year.

Meanwhile, love is in the air for Aadi and Amy as their romance heats up amidst the drama, leaving fans wondering if they'll make it through the tough times together.

And let's not forget Asha, who's been busy saving lives as a student paramedic, including stepping up during the shocking stabbing of Mason Radcliffe by his own brothers earlier this year.

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