Coronation Street’s Johnny Connor shocks ex-wife Jenny and daughter Carla in a jaw-dropping episode next week.
The businessman drowned after climbing into a sinkhole in Gail Platt’s garden, to rescue Jenny who had been swallowed into it.
After his funeral, which airs on the ITV soap next week, Jenny drops the bombshell that she’s the sole beneficiary in Johnny’s will and that he’s left her £20,000.
Jenny, played by Sally Ann Matthews, reveals the surprising news to stepdaughter Daisy, played by Charlotte Jordan, before drunkenly lashing out at her and admitting that she feels undeserving of the money.
When Johnny’s daughter Carla, played by Alison King, learns of her father’s final wishes, she feels rejected at being left out of the will despite him having bought local textiles factory, Underworld, for her before he died.
The sinkhole was caused by evil Ray Crosby last year in the Platts’ garden, in an attempt to get them to sell their house to him.
When Johnny found out his estranged wife was trapped and had fallen in, he wasted no time in climbing in himself to save her, but he ended up trapped too.
Bradford-born Richard, 66, who has played the Connor family patriarch since 2015, recently told ITV's Loose Women about how difficult it was not to spill the beans about his character leaving the show.
"I've been waiting for this moment to be shown, and for me to enjoy it as well I've really wanted to get to this point where I can actually speak about it because it was an incredible experience," he said.
"We filmed it two months ago, but of course I knew before that. I did tell a couple of people if I'm perfectly honest - just my mum and my sister - but it was okay...
"It's been really strange waiting to see it. It was kind of like an opening night!"
Richard's character has left behind his two daughters, Carla and Kate (Faye Brookes).
His on-screen son Aidan (played by Shayne Ward) took his own life on the show in 2018.
Richard also explained why he decided to bow out of the show, saying: "I live a long way from Manchester, in Brighton, and it was getting quite difficult travelling up and down, and to be honest, I felt that in seven years I'd had a good set of stories."
Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7:30pm and 8:30pm on ITV.
