Coronation Street legend Phil Middlemiss returns to soaps after leaving cobbles 26 years ago

Coronation Street legend Phil Middlemiss is set to make a huge comeback and return to soaps after 10 years. 

The actor, 60, was a well known face in the ITV soap during the nineties when he played ladies man Des Barnes. The character had plenty of dramatic storylines including dating Raquel Watts (Sarah Lancashire), marrying Natalie Horrocks (Denise Welch) and ultimately his death in 1998.

Des Barnes was trying to protect his step-son Tony Horrocks from a gang but was knocked over and sustained a head injury later dying in hospital from a heart attack. 

Phil Middlemiss will be back on our screens soon, but Des Barnes sadly won’t be coming back from the dead. Instead Phil will be heading over to rival soap in the BBC’s Doctors and taking on the role of DI Travis Lennox. 

Since leaving Coronation Street, Phil Middlemiss has appeared on several TV shows. He has starred in Casualty, Where the Heart is and an episode of Doctors back in 2014. The actor has also appeared on the celebrity versions of Blankety Blank and Come Dine With Me as himself but his new role in Doctors will be the first time he has returned to acting in 10 years.

Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX.

Natalie Dixon is NationalWorld’s Lifestyle reporter. If you liked this article and want to read more about soaps, celebrities and lifestyle you can follow Natalie Dixon on X here. 

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