Coronation Street star set for shock cobbles return eight months after exit after being spotted on set
A CORONATION Street star is due for a shock cobbles return eight months after his exit.
The Sun can reveal actor Matt Milburn has already filmed his latest scenes on the ITV set.
He’ll return to screen as former footballer turned decorator Tommy Orpington in the coming weeks.
The Sun can reveal Matt will reprise his role for a short stint in the spring.
A TV insider said: “Matt will be back for a little stint in the Spring and then he’ll go again.
“He was back filming the first week of January after his run in Panto over Christmas came to an end. Everyone was delighted to see him around the set.”
Tommy was last seen on screen in July when he and Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford) quit Weatherfield for a new life in Spain.
The pair’s whirlwind romance left their cobbles neighbours in total shock.
They got together after enjoying a steamy affair behind the back of Tracy’s husband Steve (Simon Gregson), who had hired Tommy to decorate the couple’s home.
Former footballer ‘Tommy O’ has had a series of fleeting appearances over the years.
Fans of the ITV soap opera know that the one-time football legend returned last year working as a painter and decorator, heading up the transformations at number 1 – the home of Steve and Tracy.
Although this isn’t actor Matt’s first rodeo on the show, he already has some connections to the Cobbles that are rather close to home.
Matt’s brother, Greg Wood, is a seasoned soap star and held a role as a legendary villain, the evil loan shark, Rick Neelan.
Rick was most remembered for his long-running feud with Gary Windass, his dodgy dealings and meeting an untimely end at the hands of Gary.
Matt revealed how it was Greg that inspired him to take up acting after years of feeling unsure what to do with his career.
Speaking to the TV Times, Matt said: “Watching my brother in his first college play ignited my fire for it [acting].
“Seeing the adrenaline surge through him afterwards, I thought: ‘I’d love to give that a go.’ But I just never did.
“I struggled from my late teens to early 20s to pin down exactly what I wanted to do. I did a BTEC in Sports Science as I thought I wanted to be a PE teacher.”
He then went on to add: “Then I did A-Levels, and was about to do sports journalism at university when my first opportunity to act came along.
“Greg was due to film a play for his mates at university, but he got a part in Brookside [as Terry Gibson], so he put my name forward without telling me. It was called Dealer’s Choice by Patrick Marber – it’s about poker.”
Revealing that things picked up from there, Matt was soon poached for his first soap role in Channel 4‘s Hollyoaks as Joe Spencer.
Matt recalled: “We filmed it in the basement at night, and it was the best buzz! About three weeks after that, I got an audition for Hollyoaks – it was like my university.”