A Coronation Street legend could be the next to leave Weatherfield after a whopping 26 years on the soap. 

In upcoming plotlines one character – Dev Alahan – is set to depart from home in a shocking twist.

Played by Jimmi Harkishin, 59, he first appeared as the long-standing corner shop owner on Coronation Street in 1999. 

Dev will be notified that his Aunt Gita has fallen, prompting him to go India to be with his family and help. 

He will tell his partner Bernie, played by Jane Hazlegrove, about the news and surprisingly says he would like her to go with him. 

It remains unclear how long the local business owner will be departing for, but the news is enough to leave his family shaken. 

In upcoming plot lines one character – Dev Alahan – is set to depart from the beloved drama in a shocking twist

Dev, played by Jimmi Harkishin, and his character’s partner Bernie Winter, portrayed by Jane Hazlegrove

Dev with his teenage son, Aadi Alahan, played by Adam Hussain in the soap

Read More Coronation Street pulled from screens this week in ANOTHER schedule shake-up – leaving fans livid

Dev will ask his teenage son Aadi Alahan, played by Adam Hussain, to take care of his corner shop and kebab shop while he is gone. 

It comes after dramatic scenes this week saw a mysterious blaze at the Platts’ house, which threatened to destroy much more than bricks and mortar.

Elsewhere, the soap has also faced another schedule shake-up and is set to be pulled from screens again. 

On January 31 fans of Corrie were left reeling when their daily instalment of the cobbles was replaced by Six Nations Live.

Unfortunately it’s about to happen again.

Instead of Coronation Street on Friday night (February 7), football fans can enjoy Manchester United vs Leicester City as part of the FA Cup.

The match will kick off at 7:30pm after Emmerdale wraps up.

Coronation Street usually airs every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for one hour from 8:00pm.

It remains unclear how long the local business owner will be departing for but the news is enough to leave his family shaken

Dev tells his partner Bernie, played by Jane Hazlegrove, pictured, about the news and shockingly say he would like her to go with him

But this week Weatherfield fans have instead seen the soap air on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

On Tuesday ITV confirmed that popular soaps Coronation Street and Emmerdale will move to a new scheduling pattern amid ongoing budget cuts.

Emmerdale currently airs six episodes weekly, Monday to Friday with a double bill on Thursdays.

Meanwhile, Coronation Street also airs six episodes per week, with two episodes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Now, only five 30-minute episodes of each show will air – a real terms cut to soap broadcast time of 17%.

Bosses will now introduce a soaps power hour from Monday to Friday with 30-minute Emmerdale episodes airing at 8pm and 30-minute Coronation Street episodes airing at 8:30pm.

Jimmi in character as Dev on Coronation Street 

Actor Jimmi attending the Pride of Birmingham Awards back in 2018

However, each episode will continue to drop at 7am on ITVX before transmission that same evening.

The schedule change comes after sweeping budget cuts at ITV meaning writers, crew members and even actors from Emmerdale and Coronation Street have been faced with the possibility of redundancies.

The decision is expected to put 75 of the 600 staff members who work across both shows at risk of redundancy. 

Affected staff were asked to attend a formal meeting on Tuesday morning, with some reduced to tears, The Sun reports. 

Coronation Street airs on ITV and can be streamed on ITVX.