<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"Coronation Street&amp;#039;s Alan Halsall has admitted that he is &amp;quot;gutted&amp;quot; over Julie Hesmondhalgh&amp;#039;s decision to leave the soap. The Tyrone Dobbs actor said that Hesmondhalgh, who is leaving her role as Hayley Cropper after 15 years, is &amp;quot;loved&amp;quot; by Corrie&amp;#039;s cast and crew.   &amp;quot;It felt like someone had punched me in the stomach when I found out,&amp;quot; he told The Sun. &amp;quot;Julie will be missed by everyone - she&amp;#039;s another Bill, she&amp;#039;s loved.&amp;quot;  However, he added positively that Hesmondhalgh has a bright future ahead in the theatre: &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m excited for Julie because it&amp;#039;s her choice but I&amp;#039;m gutted personally.&amp;quot; Meanwhile, Halsall confessed that his wife and former Corrie co-star Lucy-Jo Hudson has wept over his domestic abuse scenes with Natalie Gumede (Kirsty Soames). &amp;quot;Lucy cries when she sees me get hit. I get home and she says, &amp;#039;Are you alright?&amp;#039; She loves Corrie.&amp;quot; The star admitted that he has found the Tyrone and Kirsty storyline to be challenging: &amp;quot;It was hard because I&amp;#039;ve no point of reference.  &amp;quot;I read case studies and met a chap who suffered from domestic violence and he answered my questions and that helped.&amp;quot; New! Digital Spy Soap Scoop video - watch Amie Parker-Williams discuss the biggest storylines on the way in Coronation Street, EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks.  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/coronation-street/news/a453275/coronation-street-alan-halsall-gutted-over-hayley-exit/>