Coronation Street favourite Malcolm Hebden has been off screen since the end of 2017 after suffering from multiple heart attacks, but fans were thrilled to hear that he will be returning to the soap as Norris Cole later on this year. And this week, his co-star Dolly-Rose Campbell, who plays Gemma Winter in the ITV soap, has given an update on his health. Talking to Daily Star, she said: "He looks great. He's looking really healthy. He's really well." Norris is set to return to the cobbles in May for a short cameo appearance to slowly ease Malcolm back into work.
Malcolm Hebden is set to return to Coronation Street in May
In December, Corrie producer Iain MacLeod told Digital Spy that Malcolm will be "back for a short stint in a little sort of cameo return in the hope we can have him back permanently in the future." He continued: "He's on that list of Emily Bishops of characters who are so Corrie that the show doesn't feel correct without them in there. Soap characters come and go - but I am reading bits in the scripts where I know Norris would have something to say."
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Dolly-Rose Campbell gave fans an update on her co-stars health
In the show, Norris went away to Peru with Emily Bishop, and fans have sorely missed their on-screen banter. Malcolm suffered a silent heart attack in December 2017, and later opened up about his terrifying health scare. He told Blackpool Gazette: "Most of December I was in an induced coma, in the care of these brilliant, wonderful people at the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU). Fortunately I didn’t realise how bad I was, I was dying." Malcolm continued to explain that he had "at least one heart attack," and that it had torn a hole in his heart. "They operated and took a chance," he added.
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Norris has been a favourite on the street since he started in 1994. He's loved for his gossiping ways while working in The Kabin with longtime friends Rita Sullivan. In more recent years, he has been involved in many storylines with Mary Taylor, and the pair are much-loved for their comic double act. Actress Patti Clare - who plays Mary in the soap - had previously hinted that Norris would be back on the soap soon. She said She said on This Morning last year: "Norris is in Peru with Emily at the moment. So she [Mary] speaks to him often on the phone.So yes, there's a faint sort of whisper that he might be back maybe next year."
Corrie in 60 seconds
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