CORONATION Street star Sally Ann Matthews has been axed from the soap 39 years after joining the soap.
The actress – who plays Jenny Connor in the ITV soap – has been left devastated by the decision after rubbing bosses up the wrong way with her criticism of the show over the last year.
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A source said: “Sal’s devastated by the decision.
“She was central to the soap for so long as Rovers landlady but bosses wanted to go in a new direction.
“Her late night Instagram rants haven’t helped matters but ultimately it was a story-led decision by the team.
“The writing was very much on the wall when Jenny lost the Rovers but an exciting exit has been planned for her.”
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Sally Ann made her debut on the soap in 1986 as villain Alan Bradley’s tearaway daughter.
She made a shock return in 2006 which was only meant to run for a matter of months – but ended up staying and becoming a central figure in the show for another decade.
The source added: “Sal’s Corrie royalty through and through and the decision hasn’t gone down well.
“There’s a lot of people going to be sitting there worried about their own futures.”
Sally Ann made headlines last year as she lashed out at the soap for not giving her the storylines which led to lengthy breaks from screen.
Earlier this year Sally insisted she wasn’t leaving the show after fans began to worry, hitting back at suggestions she would be going.
However now she will film her final scenes in the coming months.
It comes off the back of bosses deciding to axe fellow old school Corrie icon Sue Devaney in a long-running dementia storyline.
The Sun revealed last week how one in ten cast members are facing the axe from the soap over budget cuts at ITV.
A Coronation Street spokeswoman declined to comment.
