Coronation Street's Simon Gregson confesses he almost quit soap for very different career

Coronation Street star Simon Gregson says soap bosses left him “gutted” after they banned him from pursuing his first love of racing cars. The actor even thought about quitting the ITV show so he could fulfil his passion, he confessed.

But Simon decided to stay on as much-loved character Steve McDonald, who he’s played for 36 years. “I was offered rallying with Seat,” he recalled. “I was offered a few things. I had to meet with the boss of insurance for ITV, and he said ‘Absolutely hell no’, and that was my possible career in racing gone. I was gutted, it was my lifelong dream.”

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Simon, 50, says he was envious of fellow soap star Kelvin Fletcher, who left Emmerdale to race cars. The actor, best known for playing Andy Sugden, became a rally driver after leaving the show and competed in various championships, including the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) and the British GT Championship.

“And then of course, Kelvin from Emmerdale, he’s racing McLaren, Bentley, Porsche," Simon mused. “I was like, ‘that was my dream!’ He said 'get lost' and left the show. Which is what I should have done, or maybe I shouldn’t, or I wouldn’t be here now.”

Simon walked on to the cobbles in 1989 as happy-go-lucky Steve McDonald. Picking up numerous awards for his comedic timing and dramatic performances, Simon became a firm favourite.

The Coronation Streetstar said his love of cars led to him getting into acting. “The reason I went for the job - because I wasn’t an actor, I wanted to join the RAF originally - the reason I went for it was for money,” he explained on motoring podcast Fuelling Around. “Because I’d seen a Ford Escort Mexico, in bright orange and I was like ‘I want that car, so I’ll go for that job’.”

Simon says he’s played Steve so long he often gets called by his screen name by fans in public - and even his own mum. He revealed: "I got called Steve by my mum once at home. I mean, it was a genuine mistake... but it's the last thing I need at home. Bless my poor mum, it was genuine. But yeah, I get called Steve all the time, all the time. I even get called Steve off people at work I've known for 35, 36 years, you know?"

The actor - who has been married to wife Emma for 14 years - has faced financial problems recently as he liquidates his production company. He has been ordered to pay back a £252,000 loan he took from the firm.

Dad-of-three Simon, who finished second in the 2021 series of I’m A Celebrity, spoke earlier this year about his new venture - a children’s book, called The Dream Dragon. Speaking on Loose Women, he said: “I started it about 12 or 13 years ago because my elder two boys, Harry and Alfie, kept having night terrors,” he told the panel.

“So, I told them that I had a dragon called the Dream Dragon, which would beat up the nightmares and scare them off, and they believed it,” he said. “I had to embellish on this story often, and I was telling a couple of the ladies at work, and they said ‘You should write it down’, and 12 years later I did.”

The book has already had interest from publishers, with Simon hopeful that it will be published this year and become a money spinner.

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