Coronation Street star returns to soap 15 years after shock exit and fears for his career – but in a very different role

CORONATION Street star Reece Dinsdale is making a return to the beloved soap – but not in the way you'd expect.

The played ‘s fourth husband, Joe McIntyre, who met an untimely death while undergoing insurance fraud.

He played the character for two years until 2010 until he left to pursue other acting roles including a two-year stint as Paul Ashdale on Emmerdale.

Now the actor is back on the 15 years after Joe died trying to fake his own death in order to claim insurance money.

But Joe has not made some miraculous return from the dead, in fact, Reece is taking on a

He revealed he is back at the ITV soap, directing four episodes that were due to air this week.

Reece revealed he'd helmed the Corrie chapters and “enjoyed” the experience.

“For those of you who enjoy these things, my next four episodes (as Director) of Coronation Street will be shown tonight and on Friday. I hope you enjoy watching them as much as I did making them. 🤞,” he announced on the social media platform, BlueSky.

He later updated fans to say his episodes had been rescheduled to Thursday and will not be aired on Friday to make way for the

Reece is and has made eight episodes since 2022.

He has also directed 42 episodes of Emmerdale since 2020, and helmed episodes of shows such as Pitching In, Moving On, and Secrets and Words.

The actor's gig behind the camera comes after he was forced to defend his career prospects when he left Emmerdale.

In 2024, Reece announced he would be taking a break from directing the soap following the death of his mother.

He told fans: “Following the death of my Ma (& moving house), at 64 I’ve taken a decision to have some time out from work. Many months in fact. I’ve never done that consciously.

“I’ve stuff lined up down the line, so I know that’s easy for me to say. However, I’m loving every bloody second of it!”;

Just a couple of months after the announcement, he defended his career to a troll who'd said his career had ‘gone down the toilet’.

The discussion between Reece and the troll started, after Reece criticised Nigel Farage during the 2024 election campaign for .

One X, formerly Twitter, did not like his opinion, and posted in response: “Shame that your career has gone down the toilet and you’re just bitter and twisted. Oh well, never mind.”;

Reece responded: “Presently rehearsing a major role in a play at Chichester, followed immediately after by a stint directing two of the nation’s most popular television dramas right up until next April.

“As toilets go, this is a particularly fragrant one.”;