Coronation Street actress Tracy Shaw has been enjoying a much-needed day out with former co-star Sally Ann Matthews, three months after revealing her breast cancer diagnosis.
The 52-year-old, who played Maxine Peacock on the ITV soap between 1995 and 2003, shared a sunny reunion with Matthews (Jenny Bradley) on Instagram. Captioning a photo, she wrote: “Never stopped laughing #sallyannmatthews. Meet for an [hour]. Brunch led to lunch. 3 hrs of glorious laughter. Homemade ginger biscuits, and sunflowers, I was spoilt.”
“Coronation Street's Tracy Shaw enjoys day out amid cancer battle; Luca Toolan launches production company after soap exit.”
One follower commented: “Love this so good to see you both together xxxx.” Another added: “Friends and laughter are the best.”
Shaw announced in April that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer after finding a lump. In June, she posted a tearful health update, explaining she had been “forced” to go to A&E despite trying to avoid hospital. “It isn’t easy coming in when we have cancer because there are a lot of people with – I’m not disregarding it – minor things, and some have just drank too much,” she said. “It’s really hard at this point when my immune [system] is so low to get through that part of the department without catching anything else.”
Elsewhere on the cobbles, former cast member Luca Toolan has revealed a new career move after his dramatic exit last year. Toolan played Mason Radcliffe, the bully turned victim who was stabbed to death by his brother Logan at the start of 2025 after trying to gather evidence against his siblings.
In a TikTok interview with Cheshire’s Mix 56’s Phil Roberts, the actor said: “Life after Corrie, I’m not actually dead! Life continues, I’m making my own stuff now, I’ve got my own production company so that’s my passion is making projects. It’s a dream come true, that’s the stuff that really excites me, having that creative licence and writing, directing, making, hearing stuff. Honestly that’s the funnest stuff.”
Fans shared support, with one writing: “Good luck @Lucaku and hope you are well!” Another added: “Good luck to you I would love to see you in [Corrie] again.”
Speaking after his exit last year, Toolan said of his future: “I love acting so much and I really hope I’ll continue doing it. I’ve seriously learned so much from Corrie and I’m so grateful to everyone involved there. As for my future, I’m not sure what it holds but the saying I like to say is: ‘I’m aiming for the stars and if I miss, I’ll hit the moon’.”
Show writer Joe Parkinson previously revealed that Mason’s death was refined from an earlier plan involving Liam stabbing Dylan. “I pitched it with another writer and it never seemed like the right moment. Originally, it was, I think, Liam stabbing Dylan and we didn’t want to do that with either character at the time,” he said. “Then it became Mason, so that was another thing that we sort of refined and refined over months with story conference until it became what you saw on screen.”