Keith Duffy is to return to Coronation Street as barman Ciaran McCarty. He initally joined the Weatherfield drama in 2002 as a friend of Peter Barlow’s. He was only meant to appear in the soap for three months but quickly became a favourite with viewers and ended up staying for three years. Duffy left the Weatherfield to spend more time with his family but is to return to the Street after Peter Barlow and Leanne Battersby accidentally bump into him in a restaurant. Keith told the Sunday Mirror: “He walks in to the Rovers and spots Michelle and the Irish charm and blarney start coming out and my goodness do the scriptwriters write blarney for him!” During his five years away from Coronation Street, Duffy has appeared in two Irish dramas along with reuniting with his Boyzone bandmates for a tour. But Keith spent much of his time with his wife Lisa, son Jordan, 13, and nine-year-old daughter Mia, nine. When Mia was 18-months-old she was diagnosed with autism. Duffy admits: “It was very hard for me and Lisa – it was a massive blow and we were young and didn’t know much about autism. “It became clear very early on that there were no services available so that’s when I started campaigning and that took away my frustration at not being able to help Mia directly; I was helping her on a grander scale.” Initially Keith wanted to raise enough money to fund more places at Ireland’s only school for autistic children. But the singer has now raised nearly £5million in seven years and has helped to open 13 special schools.
