Racist rants, punch-up and webcam nudity - reckless soap stars who were sacked
Sometimes there are real-life soap scandals that are more explosive that what we see on screen.
A few misbehaving soap stars have gone off the rails over the years - resulting in them being sacked from their roles.
There have been some horrific incidents, including racist rants, punch-ups at awards shows and webcam nudity.
While some actors have been given the chop for bizarre reasons, including one who lied about their age.
Most recently, Coronation Street announced the return of Todd Grimshaw with a brand new face in the wake of Bruno Langley's sacking over a sex assault conviction.
Here is a look back at some other reckless soap star who have been axed:
Bruno LangleyBruno Langley was booted off Coronation Street after 17 years after his nightclub sex assaults.
The former Tod Grimshaw actor admittrf he groped two women by the crotch and breasts on a boozy night out in Manchester.
Langley confessed he had a problem with alcohol and on occasions could not remember the morning after his drinking binges in Manchester Magistrates' Court in December 2017.
While he avoided prison, Langley was handed a 12-month "high-level" community order, slapped with an electronic tag, told he must sign the sex offenders' register for five years and pay £250 in compensation to each victim.
He wept in the dock as he was handed the sentence, as the judge told him it will be "difficult" for him to ever work as an actor again.
During a tearful interview with the Sunday Mirror, Langley issued an unreserved apology to the women he groped on a night out.
He claimed to have had a “total blackout” on the night of the attacks after a two-day booze binge, typical of his “drink, drink, drink” lifestyle, then only found out he had groped two women the following day when a shocked friend texted him.
"I know I’ve let so many people down and I’m under no illusions here, this was all my own doing," confessed Langley.
"To treat women in the way I did is truly shocking. No one should be subjected to that.
"I was horrified when I heard what I’d done. My behaviour was dreadful. I’m so sorry for what has happened. I’ve been on a downward spiral for some time but only this made me realise it.”
Langley didn't get to film an exit - with his ex-character's departure being quickly cobbled together by writers.
Todd fled Weatherfield with Summer amid fears her nasty grandmother Geraldine would take her away.
They were soon tracked by coppers - but Todd found himself in deeper waters after he assaulted one of them, and continued his run from the law.
Now Todd is coming back to the cobbles with a new face as Welsh actor Gareth Pierce takes over the role.
Gareth said of the opportunity: "I'm thrilled to be joining such an iconic show, and to have been entrusted with taking Todd forward into some really exciting storylines.
"It's an honour to be part of the dedicated Coronation Street team in such unprecedented times."
Asan N'JieA violent outburst at the 2019 TV Choice Awards resulted in Asan N'Jie being given his marching orders from Emmerdale.
The former Ellis Chapman actor was sacked for threatening to stab and kill Hollyoaks star Jamie Lomas at the annual bash - with the shocking incident caught on camera.
Horrified guests watched on as Asan yelled: “I’m going to f**king kill you. I’m going to f**king knife you.”
Asan was slammed for his “unacceptable behaviour” and was called in by Emmerdale bosses to explain his actions before bing given the sack.
In a statement, ITV said: “Emmerdale suspended Asan N’Jie yesterday pending further investigation into an incident at a central London hotel on Monday night.
“ITV executives have met with him this morning and as a consequence Asan’s contract has been terminated with immediate effect.”
Soap bosses confirmed that Ellis would be staying on screen for another six weeks as it would be “virtually impossible” to remove his character from the forthcoming storylines without cancelling episodes.
Guilt-ridden Asan explained he wanted “to learn” from his actions after his controversial behaviour at the star-studded bash.
In a grovelling statement, he said: “My behaviour at the TV Choice Awards was completely unacceptable and very much out of character.”
“I sincerely apologise to everybody who has been affected especially Jamie Lomas, the whole Emmerdale team, our audience, ITV, my family, and the organisers of the TV Choice Awards.
“I am devastated, accept full responsibility for my actions and I am determined to learn from this.”
Emmerdale viewers did not get to see Ellis actually leave the village, as Billy announced he had jetted off to Dubai to join Jessie.
The character returned a few months later being played by new actor Aaron Anthony.
Daniella Westbrook made her name playing Sam Mitchell on EastEnders, but it was actually another soap she was fired from.
The actress appeared in 16 Hollyoaks episodes in 2013 as feisty Trudy Ryan - and was set to come back to the village in 2015.
However, Hollyoaks announced they had terminated her contract over a "breach" before she filmed a single scene.
A representative for Hollyoaks explained: "We can confirm that Danniella won't be filming with us as planned because she breached her contract."
But Danniella insisted this was not true and that it was her choice not to return.
Danniella argued she made the decision not to return to the soap after learning her former lover Tom Richards had a training camp in Liverpool - near to where she is staying while filming Hollyoaks.
Danniella's manager told the Mirror: “Danniella decided not to go ahead with her time at Hollyoaks down to her ex and the fact that he has a training camp next door to where she was staying.
“Danniella did not feel she would be safe in Liverpool.
The actress has not been back on EastEnders or Hollyoaks since.
Leslie GranthamEastEnders actor Leslie Grantham lived up to his character’s name in 2004, when a newspaper published photos of him exposing himself.
The Dirty Den star, dressed as Captain Hook, was seen sucking his finger in a sexually-suggestive way on a webcam in his BBC dressing room.
Photos of Leslie sucking his finger went viral while other women accused him of exposing himself on camera.
He also insulted EastEnders co-stars, including Shane Richie, Wendy Richard, Kim Medcalf and Jessie Wallace.
Although producers didn't address the claims directly, a BBC spokesperson at the time said: "All I can say is the stories are true, that he's leaving."
Months later, it was confirmed that Grantham would be leaving EastEnders and on 19 February 2005 Dirty Den was killed off.
Leslie said: “I let my friends and family down and it was a tawdry event. I know there was a concerted effort to catch me doing something at the time but it was my own fault.
“We all learn from our mistakes and I have learned from that.”
Leslie passed away in June 2018 at the age of 71.
Marc AnwarMarc Anwar was sacked by Corrie bosses after an astonishing racist attack on Indian people.
The Pakistan-born actor branded Indians “b*****ds” and “p**s-drinking c**ts” in a series of vile tweets in which he also referred to Indians as killers and suggested Pakistanis should refuse to work in the country.
The Sunday Mirror alerted ITV chiefs to the vile rants and the Sharif Nazir actor was sacked within hours.
ITV said in a statement: “We are deeply shocked by the entirely unacceptable, racially offensive comments made on Twitter by Marc Anwar.
"We have talked to Marc and, as a consequence of his comments, he will not be returning to Coronation Street with immediate effect.”
In a one-minute video posted to TheRealMarcAnwar YouTube channel, the actor apologised for his racist Twitter abuse - saying it was "misconstrued".
He said: "I would like to offer my sincerest apologies to anyone that I may have offended with my tweets on Friday evening and especially people from India.
"This was never my intention and the language was unacceptable, I feel that I have let a lot of people down, my family my friends and my former colleagues."
He continued: "On Friday I saw on the news people being pelted with pellets, women mourning their dead in Kashmir, this upset me very deeply and in a moment of madness I ranted out and vented my anger.
"Again the language that I used, I sincerely apologise for but my feelings were very sincere for the people of Kashmir. I hope everyone can find it in their hearts to forgive me."
Stephanie DavisBefore going on Celebrity Big Brother and meeting Jeremy McConnell, Stephanie Davis was given the boot from Hollyoaks.
Back in 2010, the Sinead O'Connor actress was axed 'with immediate effect' after arriving on the set while unfit for work.
It was the final straw for Hollyoaks bosses, who also reportedly had to deal with 'at least 20' incidents.
A spokesman told the Mirror: "Stephanie’s contract was terminated following warnings for lateness, attendance and after a final incident in which she turned up to set unfit to work because of alcohol consumption."
It is understood executive producer Bryan Kirkwood visited Stephanie at her Merseyside home and terminated her contract on the spot – just four months after it was renewed.
However, Steph later claimed that isn't exactly what happened.
"It was ultimately my choice to leave," she told Zoo magazine.
"I just walked and then the producers told me if I didn’t come back they’d have no option but to terminate my contract, but that it was my choice."
Steph returned to reprise her role in 2018 and was praised for her acting during a horrific rape storyline.
In June this year, she announced she was quitting Hollyoaks with a "heavy heart".
Chris FountainA vile online rap was the reason that Chris Fountain was abruptly sacked from Corrie in 2013.
The decision was made after the former Tommy Duckworth actor posted online videos where he posed as masked rapper The Phantom and spouted obscene lyrics.
Concealing his identity with a mask, Chris’ rap included references to rape and violence.
When the footage emerged, Mr Fountain spoke of his shame - but his regret didn’t save his job.
It is believed the official reason given for the sacking was gross misconduct, as a senior Corrie source said: “It was the only action we could take.
“Chris left us no choice with what he has done and this seemed to be appropriate action.”
Opening up during a This Morning interview, Chris admitted he was deeply ashamed of his actions.
He said: “[The impact is] massive, I have constantly worked since I was 15, started on Hollyoaks, then Dancing on Ice, Coronation Street... then this happened, it put my family through hell, I let a lot of people down including myself.
“I didn’t leave the house for a long time, I was really depressed and really ashamed and rightly so.”
Just weeks after joining Emmerdale as a permanent cast member, Shila Iqbal was axed over offensive historic social media posts.
In a since deleted Twitter exchange with friends when she was 19-years-old, Iqbal reportedly used the N-word and a number of gay slurs, promoting Emmerdale bosses to cut her from the cast straight away.
An Emmerdale spokeswoman confirmed news of her depature: "As a consequence of historic social media posts Shila Iqbal has left her role as Aiesha Richards on Emmerdale.
"The programme took the decision not to renew her contract as soon as these posts were brought to the company's attention."
Breaking her silence on social media, Iqbal tried to explain what she sent such vile messages.
In a post on Instagram , Iqbal wrote: " want to say I am truly sorry to anyone who I have hurt or offended with the tweets I sent as a silly, uneducated teenager.
"Even if I was having a conversation with friends and had no malice behind the tweets, the now mature and wiser me knows that it was utterly wrong of me to do so.
"Please know I do not condone the language I used 6/7 years ago.
"Also, thank you so much to everyone who has supported me through this difficult time..."
Katie RedfordIn one of the most bizarre sackings in soap history, Katie Redford got the chop before she even made it on screen in January 2015.
The actress was announced as playing 14-year-old Bethany Platt ahead of the character's return in the spring.
An official ITV press release billed the actress as a 19-year-old, but soap fans unearthed evidence from a former CV and old Twitter handle that indicated she was actually 25.
After an investigation, Corrie bosses fired Redford and decided to get another actress (the very popular Lucy Fallon) in the role.
They explained: "Coronation Street have taken the decision to recast the part of Bethany Platt."
Bruce JonesBruce Jones played the legendary Les Battersby on Coronation Street for a decade before he was axed in 2007.
He allegedly got drunk with reporters and exposed some major storyline secrets, including the Tracy Barlow murder trial result.
His ten week suspension was eventually made permanent and Les did not return on-screen.
In a statement ITV confirmed: "Bruce Jones will not be returning to his role of Les Battersby on Coronation Street.
"Bruce's current contract will not be renewed when it ends in September of this year. The character of Les will not be seen back on screen."
Maintaining his innocence, Bruce denied all allegations made against him and claimed they were taken out of context.
After being sacked from Corrie he struggled to find permanent work and was locked in a booze-fuelled downward spiral.
In 2010, he then got an 18-month suspended sentence for dangerous and drunken driving and later went into rehab.
The actor opened up on his demons during an honest interview in June 2012, revealing he was "broke and destitute".
“After I lost my job, nothing went right. I used to try to drink depression away. I was in suicide mode,” he said.
“I used to be famous for being on Coronation Street. Now I’m going to be living on the street.”
Ricky NorwoodArthur 'Fatboy' Chubb was killed off in a gruesome manner after EastEnders bosses axed Ricky Norwood.
The actor was suspended from the soap after allegedly being caught on a webcam performing a naked sex act.
He also apparently smoked cannabis during the eight-minute Skype clip.
A BBC statement said at the time: “Ricky Norwood has been suspended from the show for a period of two months with immediate effect.
“In addition, Ricky would like to apologise to EastEnders’ viewers for any offence caused and for bringing the show into disrepute.”
Ricky did go back to film his final scenes, which aired on Boxing Day 2015, with fans launching a petition demanding his return.
A spokesman for the BBC show said: “We can confirm Ricky is leaving. We wish him all the best.”
But a comeback was made very unlikely as Fatboy was locked in a car boot, which was then taken to a scrapyard to be demolished.
However, his dead body was never seen on screen and most characters actually think he is still alive.
READ ON APP