It's last orders at the bar for Barnsley's own Coronation Street star, Katherine Kelly.

The actor, who plays Becky McDonald, is leaving the ITV soap next month. Her final explosive storylines are already underway.

She has been in Coronation Street for five years and has become one of the show's biggest names. She has won several awards.

She will now make a return to the stage, appearing from next month at the National Theatre in London as Kate Hardcastle in Oliver Goldsmith's comedy of errors She Stoops to Conquer. She was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company before going into Coronation Street, having trained at the renowned Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).

It is not yet clear exactly how she will leave, but she has previously said she would not rule out a return to the soap after she has had time to work on other projects. She told producers she wanted to leave, but asked that they didn't 'kill her off'.

Two years ago she won the Celebrity Family Fortunes Gameshow and donated the £30,000 prize to the Lamproom Theatre. It helped secure the theatre's future, as at the time it had been threatened with closure due to stretched finances.

She will continue to be seen in Coronation Street until the end of January.