Former Coronation Street star Matt Milburn has said he’s keen to reprise his Tommy Orpington role after leaving the ITV soap earlier in the year.

The actor, 45, first appeared on the cobbles in 2016 as Weathy County’s top scorer.

Adored by many and hailed as a hero by Tim Metcalfe (Joe Duttine) and Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson), he caused quite a stir last year when he engaged in an affair with Steve’s wife Tracy (Kate Ford).

He’d given up his footballing career and turned to painting and decorating, being employed by the couple to renovate their bedroom.

Unfortunately for Steve, Tommy O’ brought new life into the room in more than one way – dipping his brush into more than just a tin of Dulux.

Soon after, the pair left for pastures new – to Spain, where he’d landed a coaching position.

Why did Tommy Orpington leave Coronation Street?

Matt’s return was to facilitate a break for Kate Ford, with Tracy only returning for guest appearances throughout the rest of the year.

In February, she revealed that as his job contract was coming to an end and that they were going to move to a swanky new home in Cheshire.

Tracy was on cloud nine, overjoyed that she wasn’t having to return to the terraced streets of Weatherfield and could continue to live a very wealthy life.

However, there was trouble in paradise. Tommy had accepted another coaching job, this time in Southampton.

That would mean yet another relocation, and Tracy didn’t want to leave her dad Ken Barlow (William Roache) behind in the wake of being drugged by Cassie Plummer (Claire Sweeney).

Ultimately for Tommy, he chose his job over his love life, and she was left devastated.

Matt Milburn is up for a return

Despite the bad blood between Tracy and Tommy, Matt reckons there’s still room for him to return.

‘There’s room for Tommy to come back!,’ he said.

‘He’s not been killed off. Corrie for me, it’s up there as one of the top jobs. For me personally, it’s perfect.’

Continuing to Soap Scoop he added: ‘It’s such an iconic show and I think if you’re an actor from the north, particularly my age as you’ve grown up with Corrie, I think you’d be mad if it wasn’t on your bucket list of jobs to do.

‘I’m really thankful that I’ve had the opportunity to go there and be given a role on it. You never know – there might be a window to come back in the future. Who knows?’

Matt has a family connection to the cobbles

Matt found fame on Hollyoaks, where he played Joe Spencer for three years.

But Corrie was always his calling, especially once a member of his family landed a part on the show.

‘You know, I’m a Manc. My family’s from Manchester, it’s filmed in Manchester,’ he explained.

‘Logistically it’s always been great for me as well. I get to see all my family whilst I’m there doing filming.’

Matt is the real-life brother of Greg Wood, who portrayed cobbles gangster Rick Neelan.

He clashed with a number of locals, namely Gary Windass (Mikey North), who retaliated in 2019 in a bid to save his family, murdering Rick and burying his body in the woods.

He was also the dad of Kelly, who was played by Doctor Who actress Millie Gibson.

The character, much like Tommy O, had featured in a recurring capacity, appearing on the show over a decade-long period between 2009 and 2019.

Actor Greg is also known for playing multiple roles in Hollyoaks, namely Trevor Royle, who died in fiancée Grace Black’s (Tamara Wall) arms on their wedding day.

Talk about keeping it in the family!