Peter Barlow, everyone's favourite bigamist, is due to return to Wetherfield as the Coronation Street producers shuffle their pack once again.

Just recently, it was confirmed that bookie Harry Mason, played by Jack Ellis, and his son Dan, played by Matthew Compton - who have hardly set the cobblestones alight over the past few months - will soon be getting a one-way trip in a Street Cars minicab, quite possibly 'down South', where most Corrie rejects are banished.

Not wanting to leave Jack Duckworth unable to have his daily flutter, especially now that Vera isn't around to stop him wasting money on the dogs, the show's chiefs have decided to bring Peter back to the shop from Portsmouth, where he was last seen heading with his nephew Adam Barlow for a new life away from all the grief he caused in Greater Manchester.

Perhaps even more surprising than their decision to bring back one of soap's most unpleasant villains is the fact that the producers are even allowing actor Chris Gascoyne to reprise his role, despite the fact that he was only recently making headlines of the wrong sort after being caught driving under the influence of alcohol.

Prior to Chris taking up the role, Peter was played by no less than six separate actors, including the real-life son of Street stalwart William Roache, the man behind the long-suffering Ken Barlow, making him one of the most changing faces in British soaps, and even now it is unclear how long Peter will be around for this time, even though nemesis Charlie Stubbs is now six feet under.

As one Corrie insider told Digital Spy: "Chris is back filming with us quite soon and he'll be around for quite a while."

Quite whether Adam will return with Peter is another question, though it seems unlikely that a young man who only recently pocketed a 40 per cent share in the Underworld factory will give up a life on the south coast for rainy working class Manchester.

What does seem certain is that it won't be long before Peter is back to his old ways, breaking the hearts of girls new to the street who may not have heard of his reputation and fall for his charm over a post-factory shift pint in the Rovers.

In comparison, the real-life family affairs of the actors behind the nation's favourite soap could not be rosier.

Just this week it was confirmed that Jack P Shepherd and his girlfriend are expecting their first child and, according to reports in the News of the World, he couldn't be further from his character, the surly and psychotic David Platt.

"He hasn't been able to take the smile off his face since he found out. Both of them reckon it's the best news ever," a friend of the actor told the paper.

Also currently expecting is Tina O'Brien, Jack's former on-screen sister, who is dating Ryan Thomas, who plays Jason Grimshaw in the soap, while the man behind dim-witted Kirk, Andrew Whyment, is also set to become a dad later this year.