Warning: This article contains spoilers about tonight's episode of Coronation Street which some readers may prefer to avoid.
Charlie de Melo has admitted that he was surprised to learn that his character Imran Habeeb would be killed off on Coronation Street.
In scenes broadcast tonight, Imran and wife Toyah (Georgia Taylor) were involved in a devastating car crash - and after he pulled her to safety and rang for an ambulance, he collapsed and died.
Imran's exit had been known for some time after De Melo took the decision to quit the soap, although the character's death was kept under wraps.
Discussing the storyline, De Melo told the Radio Times: "He could leave and take the son with him, but then you're left with another childless Abi, it's like you can't do that. You could leave with Abi, but then obviously Sally Carman's not going to go anyway. They'd be fools to let her go.
"So, the only other option was to bump him off. Being told in, not in a matter-of-fact way, but [in a] this is what the story needs way, I was like: 'Well, OK, there it is then. This is what the story needs then,' that's all I would ever want. It's additive to what the next story is."
De Melo's final scenes - in flashback form - are expected to air on Coronation Street on Friday night.
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