As Gail Platt, she survived family tragedy, false imprisonment, and five husbands, one of whom was a serial killer.

But this week actress Helen Worth will film her final scenes as the beloved character bidding farewell to the cobbles of Coronation Street after an astonishing 50-year career.

The 73-year-old, who announced he was leaving the show in June, said: ‘This year felt like the perfect time to leave the show after celebrating 50 years in the greatest job on the greatest street in the world.

‘I made this decision at the beginning of the year and spoke to the producers who were very kind and understanding. ‘The fact that I am leaving has not yet fully sunk in.’

In her latest series, Gail finds love again but this time with a man 18 years younger following the surprise return of Jesse Chadwick, played by 55-year-old John Thomson.

Coronation Street changed its theme tune last night following the death of a long-running character

Gail McIntyre, played by Helen Worth, gets married in a registry office

Gail Platt gets married in an episode of Coronation Street in 2010

Thomson left the series after two years in 2010, but returned and romanced Ms. Worth’s character.

Gail, who first appeared in the ITV soap in 1974, holds the record as the most married female character.

Her on-screen husbands include Brian Tilsley, played by Christopher Quinten, and Martin Platt (Sean Wilson).

In one of the series’ most dramatic episodes, more than 19 million viewers watched as her third husband, serial killer Richard Hillman (Brian Capron), banished her to a canal.

Gail marries Martin Platt, played by Sean Wilson, in 1991. She holds the record for the most married female character in the series.

A 1988 episode of Coronation Street. Following Gail’s death, the series changed its theme tune to the sound of a flattening heartbeat.

She was wrongfully imprisoned when her fourth husband, Joe McIntyre (Reece Dinsdale), was strangled. Her last marriage was to Michael Rodwell (Les Dennis) in 2015.

Miss Worth’s departure isn’t the only change in the cobbles, as the soap last night changed its iconic theme tune to the sound of Gail Platt’s heartbeat flattening out after a heart attack.

In scenes broadcast last week, Gail was taken to hospital after suffering a heart attack as Coronation Street partnered with the British Heart Foundation to raise awareness of heart disease.