Coronation Street fans were left saying ‘no way’ when Tracy Barlow left the street after more than 20 years in the van of her new love interest Tommy Orpington.

Viewers of the ITV soap saw the divisive yet much-loved character, played by actress Kate Ford, saying her goodbyes – 47 years after she first appeared in Weatherfield when she was born on-screen in an episode in January 1977. While it wasn’t until 2002 that Kate picked up the role, in those 22 years has faced a whole host of storylines from killing her ex Charlie Stubbs in cold blood to drugging Roy Cropper and faking they had slept together before finding out she was pregnant.

But earlier this week, Tracy said her goodbyes to her family and left the street. As viewers of the long-running show know, Tracy recently ended her marriage with Steve McDonald after her affair with former footballer Tommy was revealed. However, after it was revealed former footballer Tommy had accepted a coaching job in Spain, Tracy was gutted and left feeling alone.

She decided she wanted to try again with Steve but unbeknownst to her, Tommy had written to Tracy to ask her to move with him – only for Steve to intercept the mail and burn the letter. With the truth having outed, Tracy dumped Steve again and pressed on with her plans to leave with Tommy.

Ken Barlow arranged some leaving drinks in the Rovers. After that, she then hugged it out with her nearest and dearest outside her family home and left the cobbles with Tommy in his van, seemingly for good, before being watched by a heartbroken Steve as he left Dev’s shop with a pack of beers.

As Tracy’s exit aired, Kate, who has yet to confirm her soap future, took to social media and shared a cryptic snap on her Instagram Story. The soap star shared a snap of public transport, which had the destination of “Orpington” on the front, in an apparent nod to her character Tracy’s new love interest.

However, it is more likely a play on the name as it’s also an area in southeast London and fans may not be aware that Kate actually lives in the capital with her son and commutes between there and Salford where the Corrie set is based.

As mentioned earlier, Kate wasn’t actually the first person to play Tracy. The daughter of Deirdre and Ray Langton, and the adoptive daughter of Ken Barlow, was first portrayed as a baby and toddler by Christabel Finch until late 1983, before Holly Chamarette took on the character from mid-1985 to 1988, with Dawn Acton following in the 90s.

Kate actually had a taste of the spotlight at the age of 19 when she starred in the music video for The Beatles’ song Free as a Bird in 1995, where she can be seen during a 1960s street scene. She then picked up small parts in shows including one-episode stints on EastEnders and Doctors, before becoming the fourth actress to play Tracy.