Norris vows to Corrie on
Street favourite, 78, will return next year despite heart attack
CORONATION Street favourite Norris Cole is to return to the cobbles after actor Malcolm Hebden’s recovery from a heart attack that nearly killed him.
The 78-year-old has been out of the soap for nearly a year – and fans feared he would never come back.
Norris was last seen on the show in December, before disappearing to Peru to visit old friend Emily Bishop.
But Malcolm, who has played the bumbling busybody for 24 years, visited Corrie’s ITV studios in Manchester two weeks ago to discuss a gradual return next year. One cast member said: “I was so pleasantly surprised to see him. It has been a long battle back to fitness but he looks better than I could have imagined. He looks really well, it is going to be great to have him back. “The show has missed him. We’ve missed him.” Malcolm was in the Lancashire Cardiac Centre and Blackburn Royal Hospital for three months, including three weeks in an induced coma.
In July, he praised the NHS for saving him, adding: “People are asking if I’m returning to the Street.
“I may do, I may not, it depends on my recovery.”
A Corrie spokesman said: “Everyone was delighted to see Malcolm and are looking forward to his return next year.”