Craig Charles has revealed that his brother's death inspired him to leave his role on Coronation Street. The actor, who was filming I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here at the time of his brother Dean's death, said it made him realise there was still so much more he wanted to achieve.
"My brother died last year when he was 52. I'm 51 now," he told Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford on ITV's This Morning. "When he died, I thought there are so many other things I have to do before it's my time. Coronation Street is a huge part of my life but there are other things I need to do."
Craig Charles has explained his decision to leave Coronation Street
The Red Dwarf star also revealed how he coped following Dean's death in November, explaining: "He had a blood clot, which he didn't know about, and just suddenly dropped dead. He was getting dressed in a changing room at the time. I was in the jungle on I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here and it took me a day and half to get home."
He added: "My brother's wife carried most of the burden but I had to be there. Not that I remember much of the funeral, I spent most of it at the bar getting drunk to be honest."
Craig opened up about the moment that he found out about his brother's death, describing it as "bizarre".
Craig was starring in I'm a Celebrity when his brother died
"I was in the jungle and just starting to think it could be really good fun. Then I got taken into the doctor's room. I thought I was just going to have some kind of evaluation to make sure I was okay but when I got there, they said my brother was dead."
Despite his decision to leave his role as Lloyd after ten years on the soap, Craig has said he wouldn't rule out a return to the cobbles in the future.
"I'm not leaving in a box so the door hasn't been completely closed. And I'll be coming back for the live episode in September."