THE Bailey family faced heartbreak tonight as their youngest member left the cobbles after three years on the ITV soap.
Actor Nathan Graham – who played James Bailey – said an emotional farewell in Monday’s episode as his character accepted a football coaching job in London.
The Bailey family gather to say goodbye to James as he moves to London
Aggie says farewell to her youngest child
Residents on the street waved James goodbye
The entire Bailey family got together to say goodbye, including newcomer sister and solicitor Dee-Dee.
An emotional Aggie was heartbroken by the news as she finally had all her children under one roof.
However, she soon came around to the idea of James moving as he is pursuing his dream career.
Even a proud uncle Ronnie reassured James that “the kids are going to love you. You’re going to be a role model.”
As James left in a taxi, residents on the street wore their Weatherfield County football shirts and chanted his name.
Fans were left devastated after James’ departure.
Taking to Twitter, one said: “Bye James, you’ll be missed.”
Another echoed: “Farewell James Bailey! You will be missed!”
A third even penned: “All of the hotties/eye candy are leaving! First Imran and now James. It won’t be worth watching Corrie soon.”
Nathan said how proud he is to be part of the first Black family on the street.
Talking about his exit on the show, Nathan told Digital Spy: “It was emotional and I did fill up. I am so close to my on-screen family so I know I will see them all again, but that was my last time being part of the on-screen Bailey family.
“There were a lot of similarities between James’s departure and my own. He is sad to be going but is excited about his future and so am I.”
He added: “For me I also had the story about James coming out. It was such an honour to be given the opportunity to tell a story like that.”
Nathan was worried his character may be killed off after his health scare.
He said: “Yes, they gave him a heart attack so they could have killed him. I was fully aware of the fact that once you have decided to leave, it is out of your hands and they can do whatever they want for the character to go.
“So I was pleased when I found out that it was a happy ending for James and it is nice to know I could potentially come back in the future to see the family.”
James suffered from a heart attack
James bravely came out in a press conference
James is moving to London with his boyfriend
