Coronation Street's Adam Hussain's reason for quitting ITV soap and decision by bosses

After an emotional farewell last night as his character, Aadi Alahan, left Coronation Street’s famous cobbles to start a new life in India, actor Adam Hussain reveals it was his decision to quit.

Having joined Corrie in April 2020 as Dev and Sunita’s son, Aadi, Adam took over from Zennon Ditchett, who had left Weatherfield to concentrate on his A-levels. Prior to that, Aadi and his twin sister Asha were played by triplets Hannah, Harris and Ria Ahmed.

But after five years, the actor says he decided to leave to “spread his wings” and play other characters. And his brave move has clearly proved to be a good one as Adam reveals today he has already bagged himself a role in a new feature film, overseen by award-winning horror director Richard Stanley.

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In his only newspaper interview talking about his departure, the actor, 24, tells the Mirror: “My life has changed for the better since I joined Corrie and it has been such an honour to be part of the amazing cast.

“I joined during the Covid pandemic, which was a weird and surreal time to take on a new character. I’ve loved playing Aadi, I have made good friends on the set, and I am going to miss Corrie dearly.

“But I am going to be 25 in October, and I felt it was the right time to leave. It was my decision, and the producers were so understanding.

“I want to spread my wings a little, go out in the big world and see what else I can do. I am really excited as I’ve got a new role in a horror feature film. I can’t say too much yet, but I am looking forward to it.

“I feel lucky as I’ve also been to lots of other auditions since I finished filming my Corrie scenes in June, and I’ve filmed a part in a short film, Spice For Life, too. We are sending it off to film festivals at the moment. It’s an exploration of cultures coming together.”

He is, however, glad Corrie bosses decided not to kill Aadi off. “It’s very relieving to know I can always return whenever I want to,” smiles Adam. “And they’ve told me the door will always be left open if I ever want to come back. My friends on set were gutted when I first told them, but they also understood. They now have high aspirations about what I am going to get up to in the coming years!”

Over the past few weeks, Aadi’s life has spiralled out of control as he turned to booze to get over the guilt of Lauren accidentally drinking his laced drink and the stress of running a business.

It was his dad, Dev, who told him to go and start a fresh life in India with his cousin, Vikram. Initially, Aadi was opposed to the idea, but eventually he came to the realisation that it was the perfect chance to wipe the slate clean.

“He has been really struggling financially with keeping the business running,” explains the star. “But his life spiralled because he also felt so guilty about what happened to Lauren. He started drinking a lot. At first, Aadi was distraught that his dad wanted to send him away, but he knew eventually it was the right decision to get away and have a fresh start.”

Adam says he had mixed emotions filming his final scenes. “It was both scary and exciting,” he adds. “I had a whole mix of emotions because I did get very nostalgic. I also knew it was the right decision to go.”

But thankfully, he says he didn’t fall to pieces shooting the emotional farewell scenes. “I actually had to use a tear stick for when Aadi started crying,” he reveals. “It’s been fun to film this storyline and I also think it has been good to show business owners who are struggling that they aren’t alone. It can be really tough running a business, as Aadi found.”

Admitting he has grown up a lot during his time on Corrie, Adam says he is particularly proud to have been involved in some gritty storylines. From being shot at while protecting his fiancée, Kelly Neelan, and accidentally letting Lauren Bolton drink LCD to having an affair with married woman Courtney Vance and staging a fake robbery at the corner shop, the actor says he has loved the many twists and turns his character has faced.

“I was 20 when I joined Corrie and I’ve learnt so much,” he says. “I still feel like a kid at heart but I am older now and these five years have flown by. It seems like only yesterday I was arriving on set for the first time to play Aadi. I’ve grown in confidence and I’ve learnt so much about how it works on a soap set as well as the industry as a whole.”

He picks out a car explosion in 2021 that saw Aadi fight for his life as one of his favourite plotlines. He also loved filming scenes a year later with Millie Gibson, who played Aadi’s fiancée, Kelly. She had been kidnapped by her dad’s criminal associates and was about to be shot. But loved-up Aadi jumped in to save her and took the bullet. Thankfully, the gunshot missed vital organs, but he was then left distraught when Kelly decided to leave Weatherfield for good.

“Aadi got shot trying to protect Kelly,” he recalls fondly. “It was such an honour and pleasure to work alongside Millie. We used Hollywood-style equipment, which was exciting. It was also great fun filming the car explosion stunt in the countryside.

“Filming in the pandemic was also obviously a surreal time, too. We had to keep a seven-metre distance with only two people in each scene at a time, which made filming quite difficult.

“But it’s been fun playing Aadi. I like how he enjoys playing the hero, but he has a flawed side as well. I love his awkwardness!” He also admits he is going to miss Jimmi Harkishin, who plays his on-screen dad, terribly. “I find Jimmi so funny,” he says. “He took me under his wing and showed me the ropes. I learned a lot from him, and he became my second dad – my work dad.

“I’ve kept the ‘golf ball’ set Dev gave Aadi when he asked him to be his best man as a memento. It’s in a chest at home, along with other mementoes from all my other acting jobs.

“I grew up watching Corrie and it’s been so surreal to be able to say I’ve been part of the cast. I have to pinch myself sometimes!” Both his charity shop worker mum, Nora, and dad, Azark, a retired hospitality worker, are very supportive of his decision to leave and have even let him move back in with them in Manchester.

Adam - one of four siblings - says they’ve always encouraged him to follow his dreams. “I got into acting when I was in secondary school. I was a quiet child and getting up on the stage was therapeutic for me. It helped me come out of my shell. Mum and Dad are so proud and we watched last night’s scenes together at home.”

After dropping out of college to attend an acting class run by his now-agent Darren Gordon, Adam landed several TV roles including playing Josh Nubhai in ITV’s The Bay for two seasons. He also starred in Absentia and No Man’s Land.

Adam, who is single, says he hopes to one day travel the world with his job. “I’ve already travelled quite a lot before I took on the Corrie role,” he explains. “I would love to travel everywhere, especially America. I want to get into films and the feature film I’ve been signed up to do is a great stepping stone.

“I am single at the moment. I want to concentrate on my work.” However, he stresses he’s not about to change careers. One newspaper report suggested he was working for his family tailoring business in between roles. “My brother-in-law owns a tailor,” he explains. “So, every now and again I go and help out!”

As for whether he thinks he will ever return to Corrie’s cobbles in the future and the actor smiles as he stresses: “Never say never! But I do hope Aadi does get a second chance in India. He is going to live with his rich aunt, so you never know, he might turn out to be the new Prince of Mumbai!”

- Coronation Street runs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1. Episodes can also be downloaded on ITVX.

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