Starke discovered Corrie axe from newspaper

Coronation Street star Michael Starke did not know that he was being axed from the soap until he read about it in a newspaper.

News that Starke's character Jerry Morton is being written out of the ITV1 show was leaked to the press last month. His on-screen family Mel (Emma Edmonson), Darryl (Johnny Dixon), Kayleigh (Jessica Bardon) and Finlay (Ramone Quinn) are also on the way out.

"There was a leak, so I was at home when I got the news. It was very unfortunate, but that's the way it goes in this business," Michael told the Liverpool Daily Post. "You shouldn't find out about your job like that, but there are a lot of sacrifices that you make in this game."

The Morton family have been involved in few storylines since they joined the cast last March, however Jerry finally comes to the forefront this week when he suffers a heart attack in the Rovers.

"We have been adrift, because we haven't had many storylines and those that we have had have been dropped because something's changed," Michael explained. "Now we have a storyline, it's looking really good and it's a chance to show that we've got something - and give the family a chance to really blend and show what they're all about."