List of Coronation Street characters introduced in 2021
Coronation Street is a British soap opera first broadcast on 9 December 1960. The following is a list of characters introduced in 2021, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by series producer Iain MacLeod. The first character to be introduced is Lucas Kempton in January, as a love interest of Carla Connor. Teenager Jacob Hay arrives in February, followed by Ronnie Bailey, the brother of Ed Bailey, later that month. In March, drug lord Harvey Gaskell made his first appearance. Stefan Brent was introduced in April as the father of Corey Brent. Curtis Delamere then made his first appearance in May as a love interest for Emma Brooker. [|Mia] begins appearing in September as an inmate that befriends Kelly Neelan in prison, as well as Leo Thompkins, a construction worker hired by the Platt family. Rebecca Ryan then joined the cast in December as Lydia Chambers. Additionally, multiple [|other characters] appear throughout the year.
Lucas Kempton
Lucas Kempton, played by Glen Wallace, first appeared on 29 January 2021. He is introduced as a friend of Carla Connor's whom she met whilst staying in Devon. He surprises Carla when she is waiting for a business client for the Underworld clothing factory, who turns out to be Lucas.Wallace expressed his joy with the way that his character was introduced, noting that he enjoys that Lucas has an established relationship with Carla. He states that it is "not clear exactly what happened between them in the past", and Inside Soap write that Carla is "visibly uneasy" when she comes into contact with Lucas. On Carla's romantic history with Peter Barlow, Wallace explained that while the viewers know their backstory, "Lucas doesn’t – and he doesn’t care". He defends his character, explaining that Lucas is not "heartless", but due to being a businessman, he is "used to overcoming obstacles in his life", and refers to Peter as "another obstacle" to Lucas. He also hinted that his character has regrets, and that since he is "no longer willing to miss out on life's opportunities", this motivates him to pursue Carla. He adds that Lucas sees a future with her. Wallace voiced his wishes to stay on Coronation Street for a long tenure, joking that he would like for his character to have a pint of beer with Ken Barlow in the Rovers Return.
Jacob Hay
Jacob Hay, played by Jack James Ryan, first appeared on 1 February 2021. He is a colleague of Simon Barlow, who he works with at a food delivery company. When Simon reveals to him that he is struggling for money, Jacob gives him £60. When Simon's friend Kelly Neelan sees Jacob with Simon, she makes a comment about how he cannot be trusted. She later states that while at another school, he was in a relationship with her friend, and treated her badly. She then explains that he was also imprisoned for stabbing somebody over an incident involving drugs. Simon dismisses her comments, stating that people can change following their mistakes.The character and Ryan's casting was announced on 29 January 2021. It was stated that Jacob would "shake things up" in Coronation Street, and it was confirmed that he is part of a gang that sell drugs disguised as food deliveries. On his casting, Ryan took to social media to state that he is "incredibly proud" to be able to appear on the soap, and stated that he found it difficult to keep his casting a secret. He explained that since he is from Manchester, he "can't quite articulate what it means" to be part of the cast of Coronation Street, and confirmed that he has watched the show since he was young, and always hoped to "step on those cobbles".
In scenes aired on 12 March 2021, it is revealed that Jacob has been secretly ripping drug lord Harvey Gaskell off. When Harvey discovers his betrayal, he orders a beating for Jacob, and he is put into hospital. Following the episode, actor Ryan confirmed that the scenes were his last. He thanked the fans of the soap for welcoming him, and added that his time on Coronation Street was "an absolute dream come true" for him. However, Jacob returns in 2022 after series producer Iain MacLeod decided to bring him back to the soap. He explained his decision, stating that Ryan is a good actor and that the character "feels very Coronation Street and he's got funny bones. He's got a really good way with the comedy and feels very authentic as well." His return storyline sees him revealed as the boyfriend of Amy Barlow ; the producers formed the relationship as they liked the idea of pairing a bad boy up with "somebody who is historically quite well behaved and wouldn't say boo to a goose". MacLeod added that the relationship will also explore Jacob's redemption as it explains how he ended up in the drugs industry. He felt that while Jacob has done some bad things, he is mature enough to know he needs to make amends in the town. He hoped that the scenes would "reframe people's view of him and make you see him in a slightly different light".
Ronnie Bailey
Ronnie Bailey, played by Vinta Morgan, made his first appearance on 19 February 2021. The character and casting details were announced in January 2021, when details of a storyline regarding the Bailey family undergoing systematic racism was also announced. Ronnie is introduced as the brother of established character Ed. It was stated that upon his arrival, he will be "a massive injection of chaos, energy and humour". Ronnie was described as a "real jack the lad", and it was stated that he "will tip currently-quite-cosy lifestyle on its head", and that "he'll be setting many cats among many pigeons up and down the street, much to Ed's exasperation at times". Executive producer Iain MacLeod added that Ronnie "will arrive off the back of quite a big family drama and he turns up with a secret". His backstory was later confirmed; Ronnie is a 51-year-old single man from London who looks to relocate to Weatherfield for unknown reasons. He is described as "the wayward uncle who can be slightly ruthless but irrepressibly charming", and it was noted that he is good with business decisions and money. It was also hinted that he would look for romance in Weatherfield.MacLeod teased that Ronnie arrives at "the worst possible time", since he arrives in Weatherfield at the same time that Grace Vickers goes into labour prematurely. He compared his arrival to "holding the hand grenade with the pin already out and just wondering when to drop it", but added that he "means no malice" by his actions. MacLeod also compared Ronnie's personality to former character Danny Baldwin, noting that like Danny, Ronnie is "slightly ruthless but also irrepressibly charming", and that Coronation Street has not had a character like Ronnie "for a while". Morgan's portrayal of Ronnie was not initially announced. Without giving any details on the portrayer, MacLeod stated that the actor is "fabulous" and "really, really strong". When his casting was announced, Morgan stated: "It's so great to be joining Coronation Street. I grew up watching it, I know the characters, I've lived the stories and now, to play my part on the street, I can only say I'm blessed. In my household it has always been a firm favourite", and added that Ronnie is an "enigmatic character".
Ronnie's estranged wife [|Kat Bailey] arrives in Weatherfield, due to him ignoring her phone calls. He explains that he wants to stay in Weatherfield since he needs to know if Michael is his son or his nephew. Morgan explained that after Ronnie keeping the secret for over three decades, it is the actions of Kat that motivate him to find out the truth. He explains that prior to Aggie meeting Ed, she had a relationship with Ronnie, and the timeline of Michael's birth means that Ronnie could be Ronnie's father. Morgan states that due to being 50 and having no children, Ronnie is "yearning for fatherhood", and that if Michael is his son, it "would mean everything to him". He also hinted that if this were the case, Ronnie would not have an issue with telling Ed, since he is "slightly arrogant".
In 2026, Chloe Timms from Inside Soap wrote that she "loved" Ronnie and Debbie together.
Harvey Gaskell
Harvey Gaskell, played by Will Mellor, made his first appearance on 12 March 2021. Harvey is the drug lord boss of Simon Barlow and Jacob Hay. The character and Mellor's casting was announced on 9 February 2021, where it was stated that his character will "pile on the pressure" for Simon, and that when Simon and adoptive mother Leanne Battersby tries to free himself from the drug business, Harvey "no intention of letting them out of his grasp". On joining the soap, he commented: "I'm honoured to be asked to come into Coronation Street, it's such an iconic show and has been a huge part of my family life". He recalled that when he began acting, it was his mother's dream for him to join the soap, so he was happy to "finally be able to make it come true". He described the soap as a "Manchester institution", and that he was pleased to have finally appeared in the series. Talking about the character, Mellor stated that Harvey is the first "out-and-out baddie" he has played in his career, which made him excited to portray the role, adding that Harvey will "make some waves" in Weatherfield.Executive producer Iain MacLeod expressed his excitement at Mellor's casting, and noted that he has "thrown himself heart and soul into making his character as terrifyingly real as possible". He confirmed that Harvey would have a large impact on the characters involved in the drug dealing storyline "from the moment he swaggers menacingly onto the screen". Mellor described Harvey as a "seasoned baddie who turns vulnerable people into drug dealers and bullies them into doing things they don't want to". He added that when Harvey threatens to break somebody's legs, "he means it". Mellor stated that he was "apprehensive" to join Coronation Street as a villain, and believes he will be confronted on the street by fans of the soap. Mellor explained that despite the soap being fictional, "die-hard fans feel everything for these characters" which led him to fear he would get a negative response from viewers. Prior to his first appearance airing, Mellor was already receiving messages from fans of the soap telling him to "leave Simon and Leanne alone", so he anticipated even more messages following his scenes airing.
After a trial, Harvey is found guilty of drug offences after Sharon betrayed him by providing evidence only to take his position as a drug lord. It was stated that Mellor had left the soap following Harvey's sentencing; however, in August 2021, Mellor was spotted filming for the soap again. It was then confirmed that he would be returning to Coronation Street. Harvey escapes from prison to get revenge on Leanne for sending him to prison and accidentally shoots Natasha Blakeman in a case of mistaken identity as she is wearing the same Halloween costume as Leanne. Natasha dies in hospital from her injuries and Harvey goes back to prison after Leanne crashes the car into a skip and knocks Harvey unconscious.