List of Coronation Street characters introduced in 2023
Coronation Street is a British soap opera first broadcast on ITV on 9 December 1960. The following is a list of characters introduced in 2023, by order of first appearance. January saw Amy Robbins join the cast as Christina Boyd, the mother of established character Daisy Midgeley. In June, Noah Olaoye joined as Gav Adetiba, a friend of Max Turner's. Claire Sweeney joined the cast as Cassie Plummer, the estranged mother of Tyrone Dobbs and daughter of Evelyn Plummer, in June. Married couple [|Courtney] and Darren Vance then began appearing in July. Additionally, multiple [|other characters] have appeared throughout the year.
Christina Boyd
Christina Boyd, played by Amy Robbins, made her first appearance on 23 January 2023. She was introduced as the mother of established character Daisy Midgeley. Robbins' casting was announced on 2 December 2022 with storyline details being kept secret. However, it was confirmed that Christina would "shake things up on the cobbles" in her first few months on the soap, with "potential for more appearances down the line". A spokesperson for Coronation Street stated that Christina's arrival would "up-end Daisy's life" as well as explain Daisy's personality. It meant a lot to Robbins to be cast on the soap. Robbins' brother Ted Robbins, who portrayed Brendan Finch, advised her "not to underestimate the feeling of standing in The Rovers Return for the first time"; he told her that the feeling would be overwhelming and she agreed.Robbins based Christina on a woman she had encountered in real life. At a Coronation Street press event, she explained: "I knew a woman who was doing one form of healing after another, getting one qualification after another. And nobody actually knew whether she was fully qualified, or whether she was just totally making the whole thing up. That sort of, living on the front foot and staying with friends. I've known a few women like that." She described her character as chaotic and a "bag of contradictions". She felt that Christina wants people to think she is confident while on the inside, she is vulnerable. Despite her faults, Robbins found there to be a warmth and likability to her character, if she was given the chance. She stated: "she's made so many mistakes, she's probably full of guilt. In her own way, she wants to make things better but she keeps messing it up. That's what she does, she messes stuff up." Due to this characterisation, Robbins found it interesting to portray the role.
On 15 January 2025, it was announced that Robbins would reprise the role of Christina to tie in with Daisy's exit storyline. Her arrival will come when Daisy is pregnant, but unsure whether the father is: Daniel Osbourne or Kit Green. Rebecca Sayce from Digital Spy described Christina's return as "It comes at a time the pregnant character may need this character the most."
Laura-Jayne Tyler from Inside Soap chose Christina as one of her four "Unsung Heroes" of British soap opera characters in 2025, calling Robbins "ever-funny".
Owen Longford
Owen Longford, played by Ben Hull, made his first appearance on 3 March 2023 as a love interest for Jenny Connor. Hull's casting was announced on 26 January 2023. Hull had previously played Mark Lacey in Coronation Street in 1995 for one episode. Upon casting Hull's character was described to "set the cat among the pigeons" as it is "not just loungewear that Owen sets his sights on, once Jenny catches his eye..." His character was described as "confident and handsome" and "in the market for romance". He was also described to be a "collision course" for Stephen Reid, who has recently had a fling with Jenny and has also invested in Michael Bailey and Sarah Barlow's business and "won't take kindly to someone muscling in on his turf." Inside Soap described that "the two men may butt heads not just over Jenny, but also over Owen's meddling with Stephen's business given the latter is an investor in Michael and Sarah's fashion venture."Owen arrives at Underworld as a representative of the American distribution company Nippersnapper alongside [|Angelique Simmons]. After Stephen Reid signed a business deal between Nippersnapper and Underworld, he caught the eye of Jenny Connor despite being engaged to Elaine Jones, he became jealous when he saw Owen with her and warned her of his sleazy past. He was also under suspicion of lacing Carla Barlow's tea with LSD, but this was actually done by Stephen, who was later found out for doing so when his murders and other crimes were exposed.
Karen Rutherford
Karen Rutherford is the estranged older sister of Justin Rutherford, who was stalking Daisy Midgeley. She first appeared on 13 March and was played by Lynn Kennedy. After seeing a video Daisy put up on social media of Justin harassing her, Karen goes to the Rovers Return public house. She informs Daisy of when Justin developed an obsession with her friend's sister and assaulted her when she rejected him. Karen advises Daisy to go to the police about Justin. After Justin carried out an attempted acid attack on Daisy which resulted in Ryan Connor getting facial scars, Karen goes to the Rovers Return to apologise to Daisy for Justin's actions. After hearing Ryan and Carla Barlow bring up Daisy's manipulative past, Karen passes this information onto Justin's lawyer for his trial. Out of guilt, Karen later reveals to Ryan what she had done. Karen later attended Justin's trial and was saddened when he was found guilty by the jury. Karen made her last appearance on 5 July, however her departure was announced three days later. She posted on Instagram: "And just like that, Karen’s off. Bye @coronationstreet it’s been amazing!"Crystal Hyde
Crystal Hyde, portrayed by Erin Austen, was introduced as a love interest for Ryan Connor, who first appeared between 22 March 2023. Upon her arrival, Austen described it to be "surreal" when she joined the cast of Coronation Street. She told the Liverpool Echo: "It's such an iconic show and I couldn't believe I was going to be able to walk down the Cobbles let alone be on the show with so many other incredible actors." She continued: "Everyone from the security guards, catering staff and every single cast member made me feel so welcome. They are genuinely the nicest bunch of people I have ever met. The cast and crew are so committed, so talented – it is like a slick well oiled machine." Ryan Paton from Echo reported that Crystal's debut on Coronation Street has "lit up the screen."Crystal was characterised as an Ibiza DJ and Austen enjoyed bringing the character to life, but didn't share the same music taste as her character: "I have absolutely zero DJ'ing skills and when I'm in charge of music at a party it usually clears the room. However, I adore Ibiza as an island and Crystal is really determined and strong minded, I think we have that in common." Austen also revealed: "You'll have to keep watching and trust me when I say there are some incredible twists coming up." Austen initially departed on 17 April 2023; however, on 23 October 2023, it was reported that Austen would return as Crystal and she made her return on 6 November 2023. After Crystal's initial departure, Ryan continued to text who he believed was Crystal; however, it was revealed that it was actually Daisy Midgeley pretending to be her. Austen departed again on 20 December 2023 as part of Ryan's departure storyline, which saw them leave Weatherfield to have a new life in Glasgow after his one night stand with Daisy Midgeley was discovered by her fiance Daniel Osbourne.
Estelle Harrington
Estelle Harrington, played by Ruthie Henshall, is an old acquaintance of Glenda Shuttleworth. She first appeared on 7 April 2023 and departed on 14 April 2023. Henshall's casting was announced on 13 March 2023 by Digital Spy and that she would be making a guest appearance. She arrives to make arrangements for her mother-in-law's funeral. She is outraged by George Shuttleworth's estimate for the funeral cost and berates him, but is shocked to learn that he is Glenda's brother. Estelle reveals that she is the co-owner of a performing arts company, Little Big Shotz, and that anyone can buy into the franchise and open their own branch. Glenda becomes interested, and Estelle agrees that she is perfect for the opportunity. Henshall told Digital Spy that she would love to play Estelle for longer, and said "'After the experience I've just had, yes I would '".On 1 May 2024, it was announced that Estelle would be returning to Coronation Street. Estelle returned on 8 May 2024, when Glenda was contemplating starting up her own franchise of Little Big Shotz, but did not have enough money to pay back a bank loan. Metro commented on Henshall's return: "Fans will be delighted to know that the West End star, 57, will be reprising her role as cruise ship singer Estelle Harrington very soon. Next week to be precise." Henshall also commented on her return and expressed excitement about being asked to reprise her role, "After the experience I've just had, yes I would." Henshall also discussed what she would like if her character was to reprise her role in the future: "I want her marriage to break down, for her to get a love interest and cause a bit of trouble." She continued by expressing her desire to do scenes with Maureen Lipman who plays Evelyn Plummer: "And I'd love some scenes with Evelyn, she would clean Estelle. I know Maureen Lipman – I co-produced her last show and she is just phenomenal. The Rovers Return needs Estelle and Glenda to entertain punters with the odd duet."
Gav Adetiba
Gav Adetiba, played by Noah Olaoye, first appeared on 5 May 2023. He is a fellow student Max Turner meets in a secure training centre. They form a friendship, and during their lessons with English teacher Daniel Osbourne, Gav is the first pupil to work out the connection between Daniel and Max, as Daniel is looking out for Max on behalf of Max's stepfather, David Platt.Olaoye described Gav as a lovable rogue. He opined that Gav is not a bully or someone who throws his weight around, but is instead "genuinely a likeable guy a screw loose so there is that side to him where people are afraid of him". He warned that Gav would do something unhinged if a character were to get on his wrong side. He is bored in the STC and wants to cure his boredom, believing that he may as well have fun while he is there. Olaoye admitted that before being cast, he searched into the people he would be working with. He discovered that Bever had won a National Television Award and "was like, 'No pressure then!'". He was at Huddersfield railway station when he learned of his casting and recalled standing around for five minutes trying to take the news in.
Max naturally gravitates to Gav since he is "the unofficial head boy" of the class. Olaoye explained: "People acknowledge Gav as 'the guy', and you don't mess with Gav otherwise you are going to have a problem. He is not an authoritative figure, just his presence and his aura alone let people know you don't mess with him." Olaoye said that Gav's friendship with Max is genuine due to their similarities. Due to the STC being a "quite lonely and there lot of bravado around", critics liked that their friendship gave each other someone to depend on. Olaoye hinted that there would be ups and downs for the friendship, but that they would bring out the best in each other and develop a "beautiful bond".