Coronation Street star Farrel Hegarty is leaving her role on the ITV soap.

The actress, who portrays Lou Michaelis on the soap, joined the show in February alongside partner Mick (Joe Layton), but she will soon be making her exit.

News of Farrel’s exit comes just a week after MailOnline revealed Joe Layton, who portrays Lou’s husband Mick on the soap, has also been given the chop.  

A source told The Sun: ‘She will be leaving the soap alongside Joe – they were bought on as a couple and will leave as such.

‘Fans were hoping they would be around for a while but there are no plans to keep them on longer than first intended.

A Coronation Street spokesperson also confirmed to the publication: ‘Mick and Lou were brought into the show to cause chaos on the cobbles in the build-up to a major storyline in the summer and they are already making their presence felt.’

+4
View gallery

Coronation Street star Farrel Hegarty is leaving her role on the ITV soap (Farrel and Dolly-Rose Campbell pictured on the show)

+4
View gallery

The actress, who portrays Lou Michaelis on the soap, joined the show in February alongside partner Mick (Joe Layton) but she will soon be making her exit

The spokesperson added that they were contracted for a ‘specific length of time’ and were brought in to ‘pass through and leave a trail of destruction behind them’.

They also confirmed that both actors are still filming with the show and will be on screens until summer.

According to The Sun, both Joe and Farrel will film their final scenes on the show next month before leaving for good.

Further details surrounding their exit are expected to be revealed in due course.

Lou’s loud personality saw early comparisons to Cobbles icon Janice Battersby, portrayed by Vicky Entwistle, however, many fans were calling for her to be axed from the soap.

Before news of both their exits was revealed, one fan argued they were the ‘worst characters’ to ever grace the cobbles.

One fan fumed at show bosses, saying: ‘Absolutely dreadful characters. Written horribly, not evil yet absolutely no redeeming qualities.’; ‘Not entertaining in any way. Awful, awful, awful.’;

‘Potentially up there as the worst new characters ever for me. A real sign of the s*** show that is Corrie in the 2020s.’

Lou arrived on the street after she struck up a friendship with Gemma Winter Brown, portrayed by Dolly-Rose Campbell.

+4
View gallery

A source told The Sun: ‘She will be leaving the soap alongside Joe – they were bought on as a couple and will leave as such’

She and Mick (Joe), then moved into a house on the other side of the ginnel – the first time a house on that side had ever been used in Coronation Street.

It comes after it was reported last week that Joe would be leaving his role as well on the hit ITV show.

An insider told The Mirror that Mick’s character will remain on screen until late July, with the soap source teasing there was ‘lots more to come’.

After landing the role, Joe explained that it was a dream come true to join the ITV show.

He said: ‘Coronation Street is such an institute in British television and to get to walk down the cobbles in Mick’s shoes is so exciting.

‘To also do it alongside Farrel is awesome – we are having great fun together and connecting really well whilst developing our characters.

‘It also gives the opportunity to get a look behind the curtain of this huge machine and be a small cog within the big picture of Coronation Street and to work alongside people who take such pride in their work.

‘It’s just a really happy place, friendly and welcoming. I’m going to relish every moment of it.’

+4
View gallery

It comes shortly after Coronation Street star Joe Layton quit his role on the hit ITV soap – just months after making history

Previously discussing his villain role, Joe explained that he was very excited to be portraying an ‘interesting’ character.

He added: ‘I really enjoy playing what people would refer to as a baddie or a villain because for me the most interesting thing is all how we move past the first initial judgement of them, especially when you’re going to be playing them.

‘It’s really interesting because when you’re playing a character, a part of you has got to love them and empathize with them and understand them.

‘I always think ‘how do I get into this character’s shoes and why is it the way he is and why does he do the things that he does?’ So I always find it really rewarding and a real kind of privilege to any character, but especially the psychologically complex characters.

‘Working with Sam and Dolly-Rose has been amazing, like I said, everyone at Corrie is so welcoming and the Winter-Browns are an iconic family!’