Arnold: "It was time for Ashley to go"

Coronation Street star Steven Arnold has revealed that he is glad his character Ashley Peacock was killed off in the tram crash.

The actor, who first appeared on the ITV1 soap in February 1995, admitted that Ashley had lost his sense of purpose and said that reduced filming hours got him down.

He told the News of the World: "To be honest I felt ready to go. I've loved my time at Corrie. I cried when I left because it means so much to me but it was time for Ashley to go. I was working part-time, just four months of the year. And it got me down.

"The character was fading away and the writing was on the wall. I'd lost a sense of purpose. I was getting paid less. I spent days walking my two Rottweilers to fill the time. I'm ambitious and I wanted to be working. I worried I was doing my job wrong.

"The one bright spot was the fantastic way I was eventually written out. Ashley joined Coronation Street as a wimp and left as a hero. I was made up, delighted that Ashley was being killed off. It's the end of a chapter, I'm moving on."

Arnold added that it was a "privilege" to leave as part of the show's 50th anniversary.