She'll be back on the cobbles very soon.

Coronation Street boss Iain MacLeod has revealed Gail Rodwell's return storyline was initially a lot different. The iconic soap character returns to the cobbles next Friday [October 25] - and soon finds herself face-to-face with more drama than she could have anticipated. Scenes set to air next week see Bethany Platt and Daniel Osbourne share a kiss, as he continues to struggle with the fact that his wife Sinead is terminally ill. And when what happened begins to spread amongst the other residents of Weatherfield, Tracy Barlow and Sally Metcalfe "tear a strip off Bethany" - and her grandmother, Gail, returns to the street just in time to defend her. According to Digital Spy, Gail quickly its caught up on what has been going on and tries to offer Bethany some advice - thanks, in part, to her new zen attitude. Speaking at a press screening of the heartbreaking episodes on Monday, MacLeod hinted at what fans can expect from Gail's return. He said:

"Less has happened to her than had originally happened in some versions of the story, where she came back fully meditative and doing yogic flying and the like!

"She's still the Gail that viewers will recognise, but she's a little more grounded and more mother earth.

"I found the scenes coming up between Gail and Bethany really moving, actually. She's still the Gail we know and love, but there might be a few more harem pants in her wardrobe and a few more coiffure choices."

He also revealed that Gail has had a "zen-like epiphany" during her time away from the cobbles - but promised fans that not much has changed, and that "she's still Gail." MacLeod explained that they had "moved away" from a storyline about Gail having a holiday romance - as they didn't want her to end up with another serial killer. He continued:

"There was originally a story on the table where she did, but we moved away from that in the end, just because we don't want Gail to get together with another serial killer! And if we were going to do it, we'd want to do it on screen rather than off screen!

"So no, she hasn't. She's just had a zen-like epiphany. But it won't turn into a pastiche of a hippy lifestyle – she's still Gail."