Corrie axes three stars

Coronation Street bosses have axed more of their stars to cut costs in the credit crunch, it has been revealed.

The Sun reports that the characters Paula Carp (Sharon Duce), Poppy Morales (Sopiya Haque) and Mary Taylor (Patti Cole) will leave screens in a matter of weeks.

The characters have been on the show for around six months and a source told The Sun that they have failed to make their mark: "It's a real shame they're leaving but their characters haven't made a huge impact and we haven't got any more big storylines for them.

"We just can't afford to keep them on. We can't be sentimental and we felt their characters had run their course."

Soap exits quiz How did the stars depart the show?

Sharon Duce's character Paula was written into the show in a shock storyline that revealed she slept with the dad of her friend Eileen when she was a teen and that he is now the father of her child. Duce's contract was not renewed but she may still return in time.

Meanwhile Patti Cole's character of Mary was responsible for a simmering affair with Norris (Malcolm Hebden) and Sophiya Haque's Poppy was drafted in to fill the role of a barmaid at the Rovers.

Other actor's contracts that were axed in the last month include Ayesha Dharker (Tara Mandal), Philip McGinley (Tom Kerrigan) and Edward de Souza (Colin Grimshaw).