Michael Le Vell shares relief at new Coronation Street contract
He may have been on Coronation Street for more than 40 yeard, but Michael Le Vell never takes it for granted that he'll be offered a contract extension.
Michael Le Vell "breathed a sigh of relief" when he received a new Coronation Street contract.
The 61-year-old actor has played Kevin Webster in the soap since he was just 18 years old but he insisted he never takes having a job on the show for granted because writers can always run out of plots for the characters.
He told the Mirror: “You can never take the job for granted. My contract was due in January and I’ve just been offered a new one, so I can breathe a sigh of relief for another year.
“But you can never look beyond that. They might say ‘you know what, we can’t write for you, we don’t know what to write for you anymore. Thank you and goodbye.’ That’s the nature of the beast.”
Despite his decades on Corrie, Michael - who is the soap's second longest-serving actor behind Bill Roach - still gets nervous ahead of a big scene.
He admitted: “Not a day goes by where I don’t get nervous.
“I get a churning stomach and I feel apprehensive, especially if I’m in every scene. It’s even more stressful if I’m in a scene with someone like Bill Roache or Barbara Knox – mainly out of respect – or if I’m in a big scene in the Rovers.
“If there are lots of people in the pub, when it comes to your bit, you’re thinking ‘don’t mess up, don’t mess up.’ Otherwise, they’ll all have to go back and do their dialogue again, so that’s an added pressure.”
While there has been fan speculation Kevin could be set to reunite with ex-wife Sally Metcalfe (Sally Dynevor), Michael would much rather see the mechanic back in the arms of his spouse Abi (Sally Carman).
He said: “People ask me all the time if I’d like Kevin to get back with Sally and I always say no. It’s because I love Sally and Tim together. I think they’re a great couple, so I wouldn’t want them splitting up, just so I can get back with Sally.
"I’d get back with Abi, because I love working with Sally Carman. I hope they find a way to reconcile them in 2026, but at this moment in time, that’s not on the cards either.”
Early January will see a special Coronation Street and Emmerdale come together for a special Corriedale episode, and Michael - who has been sworn to secrecy - was honoured to be part of the storyline, which involves a devastating car crash on a country road.
He said: “It was an honour to be part of Corriedale because these things don’t come around too often. I was in a scene with a couple of Emmerdale actors - Jeff Hordley (Cain Dingle) and Danny Miller (Aaron Dingle) – as we tried to move a crashed car, which was great.
"The episode involved a lot of night shoots out on location and our trailers were next to each other, so the casts of the two shows were always having a cup of tea and a chat, which was fun. It’s very exciting; it was a great privilege to be a part of it.”
