Coronation Street legend Malcolm Hebden was seen back on set in the most recent episode of Dancing on Ice, as the Norris Cole star returned to the cobbles to support his former soap co-star.
Hebden played the iconic, acid-tongued newsagent Norris between 1994 and 2021, before he retired from acting.
But he made a surprise return to the Street this weekend to show his support for Dancing on Ice 2025 contestant Sam Aston, who has played Chesney Brown since he was just 10 years old.
Speaking ahead of his latest skating routine on Sunday, Aston opened up to his professional skating partner Molly Lanaghan about his childhood on the Corrie set, revealing that he became very close to Hebden.
“He really just watched out for me,” he said. “Off-screen, we became very close, and are still to this day. He became a kind of granddad figure to me.”
Hebden and Aston were then seen catching up on the set of Roy’s Rolls, where they shared their memories of working together.
“Chesney and Norris, they didn’t gel at all!” Aston laughed, with Hebden adding, “But we did, strangely enough”, before mentioning their “huge difference in age”.
The pair then joked about how a young Aston could “get away” with prompting his older co-star on his lines.
“One thing I remember that you’d said – know your lines and don’t be late… And they’re two things that I’ve tried to carry on,” Aston said, recalling the advice that Hebden gave him.
Hebden then admitted that he felt “sort of responsible” for Aston, adding, “You are my sort of surrogate grandson, I hate to admit it.”
Aston went on to score 29 points out of 40 for his skating routine to The Who’s ‘Baba O’Riley’, after saying that “this performance is in honour of 10-year-old Sam”.
After Norris left the cobbles behind, he moved into Stillwaters retirement home and got together with Emily Bishop’s niece, Freda Burgess. He died off screen in 2021 after having a stroke.
However, he has been mentioned in storylines since his death, including a wild goose chase around a paper-boy figure. He was also referenced in Ed Bailey’s gambling storyline, after Ed committed credit card fraud with a card in Norris’ name.
Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.
