A CORONATION Street legend revealed he drank a ‘bottle of vodka a day’ at the lowest point of his alcoholism battle.
The fan favourite actor had a 20-year stint in the long-running ITV soap.
Corrie viewers know actor Kevin Kennedy for his role as beloved binman Curly Watts.
Speaking to the Mirror, the 63-year-old opened up about his past alcohol addiction.
Kevin revealed he drank “a bottle of vodka a day'” while working on the cobbles.
Having remained sober for over two decades, the actor said: “I didn’t become an alcoholic because of fame or the pressures of being in a soap.
“Alcohol addiction is a mental obsession.
“Even though I have been sober for years, I still need to look back on those dark times when I was drinking a bottle of vodka a day and working on Corrie.
“I upset my family and my friends, but I always have to remember where I have come from – purely for the simple reason I don’t ever want to go back there.”
Viewers saw Curly marry barmaid Raquel Wolstenhulme – played by Happy Valley‘s Sarah Lancashire – during his stint.
Curly left Coronation Street in 2003, starting a new life with second wife Emma Taylor (Angela Lonsdale).
The character made a brief return in 2010 through spin-off DVDs.
Fans learned Curly’s marriage to Emma ended sometime after they left Weatherfield.
Meanwhile, Kevin’s appearance on This Morning last month led to an outpouring of support.
Ardent Corrie fans took to social media, calling for his return to the cobbles.
Taking to X, one posted: “Would love for Curly to return to Corrie.
According to the NHS, regularly drinking more than 14 units of alcohol a week risks damaging your health.
To keep health risks from alcohol to a low level if you drink most weeks:
If you’re pregnant or think you could become pregnant, the safest approach is not to drink alcohol at all to keep risks to your baby to a minimum.
You read more on the NHS website.
“What the soap desperately needs is to bring back some of its most iconic characters where possible and Curly was absolutely one of those.”
Another added: “Curly, Chalkie Whitely and Eddie Yeats on the bins.
“Them were the days.”
Coronation Street airs on ITV1 and ITVX.
