Life's A Beach And Then You...

Corrie star Ben Price on leaving his screen family to spend more time with his real one – and Nick Tilsley’s life-threatening trip to the seaside...

- Alison Slade

It’s ta-ra to Nick Tilsley this week, but will the Bistro boss leave Corrie in a car or a coffin? The omens aren’t looking good when he’s sucked into some quicksand during a day out at the beach.

Off screen, actor Ben Price has decided to quit his role to spend more time with his fashion stylist wife, Alexandra, and their two children, Paloma, 10 and Max, 7.

We caught up with Ben, 45, to talk about his big decision and that perilous day by the sea…

Can you tell us about your decision to leave?

I live a couple of hundred miles from Manchester. I was away most weeks, and have been for years. I need to see my children more. Of course, I agonised over it, as I’ve had the best time of my career at Coronation Street, but I feel like I have done everything with Nick that I could do. I’ve done a thousand episodes in eight years. That’s a lot of big stories!

What are your highlights?