Curly: I’d love to make a Rovers return
Kevin Kennedy’s Corrie dream 17yrs after leaving
KEVIN Kennedy played lovable Curly Watts in Corrie for 20 years – and he would jump at the chance of being on the show again.
The actor quit the cobbles in 2003 to pursue a music and theatre career.
Kevin, 58, said: “I’d love to come back to Coronation Street.
“I still have a great relationship with ITV and... I think Curly would have some stories to tell.
“Coronation Street has changed a lot and evolved with the times.
“It’s a different soap from when I was in it, but when I joined it was a different show from 10 years before that.
“It changes for the better I think and deals with brilliant ideas and stories.”
Fans still call out “Raquel” – the name of Curly’s ex-wife – at Kevin when they bump into him.
He said: “That will never leave, and it’s a humbling experience.
“When people do talk to you in the street or shout ‘Raquel’ and things like that it’s a real compliment.
“It means they remember your work.
You can’t ask for more than that. They’ll say things like ‘When that storyline was happening I was getting married’. People remember it and it’s great.”
More than 22 million viewers watched the episode in 1995 when supermarket assistant manager and former binman Curly got hitched to barmaid Raquel, played by Sarah Lancashire.
Kevin seemed to be on top of the world but behind the scenes he was in the grip of alcohol addiction.
He said he would have his first drink when he woke up and boozed throughout the day, sometimes taking cocaine to help him down more.
After his life began to unravel, Kevin feared he would die from his addictions, and he had a nervous breakdown at the Corrie studios in 1998.
He was temporarily written out of the soap, and spent 28 days at The Priory rehab clinic. This enabled him to return to the show and rebuild his life.
The actor has now been in recovery for the past 22 years.
He said: “I will forever be grateful to ITV for sending me to rehab and giving me a chance.”
Dad-of-three Kevin, who was born in Wythenshawe, Manchester, now lives in Brighton, East Sussex, with wife Clare.
She stood by the Corrie favourite throughout his problems and is in recovery from alcohol addiction herself.
Kevin and Clare have turned their focus to helping others by launching their charity The Kennedy Street Foundation.
It offers services such as a helpline and free support. Kevin has revealed they were extremely busy during lockdown.
He said: “In the first 12 weeks of the pandemic we received calls from over 700 people struggling with addiction and mental health problems. If you work in
KEVIN ON FANS HARKING BACK TO CURLY’S WIFE
SOAP STAR Kevin played Curly Watts an office and you’re nipping out every 20 minutes to drink or use, people notice.
“But if you’re working from home and the only time you really have to be compos mentis is for a quick Zoom meeting it gets easier to hide and the temptations and dangers are there.”
The foundation is raising funds through a campaign called #Road2Recovery – with people travelling 5km, donating £5 and nominating five others.
It has been backed by former Corrie star Denise Welch who has talked previously about her mental health struggles.
Kevin said: “We want to help people who find themselves in the desperate situation I was in 22 years ago.”
The star, who was doing music rehearsals in Miami just before lockdown, added: “If the Government is saying we can get football supporters back in October, which I applaud, they’ve got to open the theatres again.
“I did a couple of West End shows before the cobbles and that’s a lot of the stuff I’ve done over the past 16 years.”
■ Visit kennedystreetcio.org/r2r/ to join the #Road2Recovery event.
People in the street shout ‘Raquel’... it’s a real compliment