Coronation Street producers on why key members were missing from Gemma and Chesney's wedding

Gemma Winter in her huge orange wedding dress at the church with Chesney Brown and their children
(Image credit: ITV)

Tonight's episode of Coronation Street was full of drama, as Chesney walked down the aisle with bride Gemma - but there were some notable absences on the day. 

Chesney's mother and sister were both absent for the big day, much to the distress of the groom. 

"That's Fiz and me Mam not coming now either," Chesney said as he got ready with Tyrone and Dev.

Sadly, Tyrone confirmed the news, saying, "Yeah, I've just had the same. Fiz is at A&E with her now. Apparently, Cilla had an accident at karaoke last night."

Tyrone also explained that Kirk wouldn't be making the bash, telling Chesney, "Ice cream van ran into the back of his van last night in Milton Keynes. He's having to stay to have it repaired."

Jennie McAlpine, who plays Fiz in the ITV show, is currently pregnant, meaning she's currently left Corrie on maternity leave.

Her exit was written out as Fiz exploring a new job opportunity in Norwich. 

Show producer Iain MacLeod commented back in February during an appearance on Loose Women, "This is one of the weird things about working on a soap.

"When an actor says they're pregnant, obviously the first reaction is, 'Congratulations, that's amazing', but the second one is, 'Right, how are we going to account for their absence?'

Gemma Winter and Chesney Brown walking down the aisle with a huge orange wedding dress train following behind her

(Image credit: ITV)

"What we didn't want to do is split them [Fiz and Tyrone] up because they've been on again and off again and they've just got married."

It's unknown how long Jennie will be off on maternity leave for, but on screen, Fiz's hiatus from the show has been described as a six-month break.

And as for the other characters? Wendi Peters, who starred as Chesney's mum Cilla until 2014 is now starring in Doctors, while Kirk, played by Andy Whyment, recently took part in the all-stars series of I'm A Celebrity.

Coronation Street airs half-an-hour-long episodes on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 8 pm on ITV this week — see our TV Guide for full listings. You can also catch up on episodes on ITV Hub.

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Lauren is the former Deputy Digital Editor at woman&home and became a journalist mainly because she enjoys being nosy. With a background in features journalism, Lauren worked on the woman&home brand for four years before going freelance. Before woman&home Lauren worked across a variety of women's lifestyle titles, including GoodTo, Woman's Own, and Woman magazine. After starting out working for a local paper in Yorkshire, her journalism career took her to Bristol where she hunted out stories for national papers and magazines at Medavia news agency, before landing a job in London working as a lifestyle assistant.


A big fan of adventure, Lauren is also a keen travel writer and loves sharing tips on where to find the best places to eat, drink, and be merry off the beaten track. Lauren has written a series of travel guides for London hotels and loves sharing her insights into a destination's cultural and culinary offerings. If you need a recommendation on any UK destination, she's more than happy to help. At the weekend, you'll usually find her hanging out with her pet cat (or anyone else's pet she can get her hands on), escaping to the countryside, or devouring a good book.