Keith Duffy rules out ever returning to Coronation Street and reveals why he has ‘no interest’ in comeback

BOYZONE singer Keith Duffy lit up the Rovers Return with his Irish charm for a decade and fans have long-hoped he’ll return to the famous pub.

But the singer, who is reuniting with his bandmates next month for two huge shows at Arsenal‘s Emirates Stadium, has ruled out a cobbles comeback.

In an exclusive interview with The Sun, Keith, 52, said while he loved his decade as sex symbol Ciaran McCarthy, there have been too many changes after 14 years away.

“I just feel that I was in Corrie at the right time. Not only for that reason, but also because the iconic stars of Coronation Street, like Mike Baldwin and Fred Elliott and Jack and Vera Duckworth, and Deirdre Barlow and all these iconic characters, I worked with all of them; they were all in the show when I was there, and they’re all gone,” he said on behalf of Zingo Bingo

“I think Ken Barlow’s the only one, Bill Roache is the only one left as far as I know, so I don’t recognise anybody.

“My mum still watches Corrie regularly; if I’m in her house, I’ll watch it with her, but I don’t recognise anybody. And they’ve moved from Quay Street in Manchester now; they’re out by Media City now in Salford Quays, so I’ve never been in that building, so everything would just be alien to me now.

“It wouldn’t feel like I was going home or going back to something; it would feel like I was starting something new, and that’s not something that interests me.”

Keith credits the show with giving him purpose in a time when Boyzone weren’t active and Boyzlife, his current duo with Brian McFadden, were yet to exist.

“When I was in Coronation Street, I was blessed, I was very lucky,” he said. “I loved my time there, and I owe a great deal of gratitude to all the cast and the crew of Corrie, because they really did try to take me out of the desert when I didn’t know where to go, and I was thirsty, you know, I needed to do something, so they were very, very good to me.

“At the time I was in Corrie, you didn’t have all these platforms like Amazon and Netflix, and there’s so many different platforms now that people are finding their entertainment on.

“A lot of these long-running soaps are struggling now, because they don’t have the audiences that they used to.”

With 160 tour dates booked this year, there’s little time for Ireland-based Keith to contemplate acting work.

Though he admits he does read scripts when he’s sent roles, even if he has no intention of taking them on.

Ultimately, his heart lays with the theatre stage and the West End, and is hopeful he will return there when the time is right.

He said: “I just hope if the day ever arrives again, and I get an opportunity, that I haven’t forgotten what I’m doing, and I’m able to pick it up quickly enough again, that’s the thing.

“I mean, singing, like anything, it’s a muscle that needs to be exercised, maintained, and looked after.”

“In the Coronation Street days, I could read a script in 10 minutes and retain the information, no problem. These days, I pick up a script, because I do get sent scripts from time to time, and I do read them out of interest, knowing that I’ll never be able to do it, but I like to read them.

“But I find it a difficult read now, and I might have to read it once or twice to retain the information, so it is something that you lose if you don’t stay on top of it.”

Keith’s son Jay, 30, would often watch him on the Corrie set as a young boy and has gone on to forge his own successful career in the industry.

Beginning on Hollyoaks, he moved onto hit dramas like The Walsh Sisters and Amazon’s popular fantasy The Wheel of Time, which was cancelled after three series leaving viewers stunned.

“I look at his dedication and his taping; I realise how amateur my taping was when I was doing it. He’s so polished, so yes, I’m very proud of him,” said Keith.

“But again, as a parent in this business, you can’t help but worry and be concerned, because you can be very, very busy one year, and the next year then, it can be very lackadaisical, and anxiety can kick in, and you get a bit stressed about your future and stuff.

“Jay’s no different; he’s like any other actor, a jobbing actor, waiting for the next job to come in.”

Music is at the forefront of Keith’s mind heading into the summer season. Boyzlife’s fifth original single is due for release and he believes it could take the duo to new heights, calling it a “great pop tune”.

He’s relishing returning to the stage with Ronan Keating, Shane Lynch, and Mikey Graham too, though admits he was disappointed the group didn’t sign up for a lucrative 40-date tour after the success of the Boyzone documentary on Netflix last year.

Keith said the decision was out of his hands and, ultimately, Ronan was reluctant to head out on a full run, with his radio and family commitments taking precedence.

“I was more than happy to step up and do, but it wasn’t me, I wasn’t in control, I wasn’t the decision maker.

“Everybody has to agree to doing a tour like that; it takes a lot of time and effort, and everybody needs to be dedicated to it, and I was 100 percent prepared to do a Boyzone tour.

“I thought that’s what the right thing was to do, but Ronan didn’t want to do it, Ronan wanted to just do a couple of stadium shows and leave it there.”

Keith even suggested former Westlife star Brian could have stepped up and joined the boys for the tour.

The Keith of today is a different animal to his time in the group decades earlier. His vocals and stage presence have improved and a lot of that is down to the support and guidance of Brian.

Ronan and the late Stephen Gately were always considered the lead singers of the group, with the other three members rarely getting a look- in on lead vocals.

It damaged Keith’s confidence and he thinks the dynamic could have been handled better at the time.

He said: “I think maybe at the time, possibly, somebody else should have maybe kind of lifted the load a little bit with Ronan, but we’d never been encouraged, we’d never been backed, we’d never been pushed to the front, if anything we were put down and insulted.

“So, you know, your confidence dies when you’re being constantly put down and put to the back, and when you’re standing on stage in front of 10,000, 20,000, 50,000 people, you really don’t want to be self-conscious. You want to be very, very confident and positive and secure in your situation and that’s where I am now.

“So, now it’s time for me to step up, you know, stand centre stage to take some of the pressure off Ronan.”

The boys will take to the stage at the Emirates on Friday 5th and Saturday 6th of June.