Farrel Hegarty, who plays Lou Michaelis, first graced the cobbles of Coronation Street earlier this year. Her character quickly became embroiled in some of the soap’s most gripping storylines.

Viewers were introduced to Lou, her husband Mick Michaelis, and their three children Joanie, Shanice and Brody.

However, drama ensued when it was unveiled that Kit Green was actually Brody’s biological father, following an affair with Lou during Mick’s prison stint.

This shocking revelation incensed Mick, leading him to seek revenge. Tragically, it was PC Craig Tinker who bore the brunt of his anger, as Mick fatally assaulted him with a baseball bat after being stopped for drink-driving.

After attempting to flee and taking Kit and Bernie Winter hostage, Mick was eventually apprehended by the police, reports Wales Online.

Since then, Lou has found herself ostracised on the cobbles, even by her own son, after he discovered the truth about his real father.

In recent episodes, Lou attempted to blackmail Gary Windass, who had tried to support her. Feeling betrayed, Gary decided to leave Weatherfield to visit his mother.

However, Gary has since disappeared and was recently revealed to be in a coma in hospital, a fact his family is yet to discover.

In next week’s spoilers, Mick breaks out of prison in an attempt to abscond with his family, while Lou finds herself in hot water.

Lou star Farrel has opened up to Inside Soap about her emotional departure from the show, revealing the poignant moments of filming her last scenes: “It was really sad. On your last day on set, they give you a little round of applause.”

She recounted a touching encounter with co-star Julia Goulding, saying: “Julia [Goulding, aka Shona] is one of my best mates and she popped round the corner. You know when you see your mate and it just makes you upset? I saw her little face and I burst into tears!”

Farrel also speculated on the potential return of her character, Lou, musing: “I would love to see what she’s capable of without Mick.”

She described their relationship as heavily reliant and toxic, yet sees a brighter side to Lou: “They were so dependent on each other, and it was so toxic. There’s a lot of joy and fun in her and also mischief. Obviously, it wouldn’t be strait-laced, would it? She’d go on a rampage!”.

As for life post-Coronation Street, Farrel expressed uncertainty but optimism: “I don’t know! I think Coronation Street is such an amazing platform, and I’ve had a couple of auditions, so we’ll see what comes out of it. You never know what’s around the corner!”