The cheeky grin may have faded somewhat – but the flat cap is still there, as is the shifty sideways glance.

Actor Kenneth Cope is set to return to the ITV1 soap as Jed Stone – 42 years after he last walked the cobbled street in Weatherfield.

Jed, also known as Sunny Jim, was a loveable rogue who managed to sweet-talk landlady Minnie Caldwell (Margot Bryant) – owner of the Street’s iconic ginger cat Bobby.

And here he is, with a remarkably similar-looking cat. Can mischief be far off?

Cope, 73, first joined Corrie in 1961 and left in 1966. This time his character is about to be evicted from his home by ruthless developer Tony Gordon – but of course he plays havoc with the businessman’s plans.

In Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)

Cope has also played the ghost Marty Hopkirk in the 1970s series Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), and Ray Hilton in Channel 4’s Brookside from 1999 to 2002.