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Lauren Hughes

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

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?'

(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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