2012, after the end of his contract with Rock of Ages. In February 2014, Ward released a version of "Falling Slowly" with Louise Dearman. In 2014, Ward joined the cast of Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds for the final arena tour of that production, as the Artilleryman. On 19 September 2014, Ward announced was working on a new album with Mike Stock, with a then-projected release of February 2015 through PledgeMusic. Ward later postponed the release to April, with the video for the first single "My Heart Would Take You Back", due to be filmed on 25 February 2015 in London. The album was released in April 2015 and peaked at No.17 in the UK albums chart. It featured two further singles; "The Way You Were" and "Moving Target". 2015–present: Coronation Street and new music On 12 May 2015, ITV announced they had signed Ward to a one-year contract deal to appear on Coronation Street as Aidan Connor, a "distant cousin of Michelle who grew up on the same estate as her and knicker boss Carla Connor". He made his on-screen debut in August 2015. For his performance, he received 2016 National Television Award and 2016 Inside Soap Award, both for the Best Newcomer. His contract was renewed the following year due to the character's popularity and he continued in the role for another two years. In early 2018, Ward announced that he was leaving the role. He made his last appearance as Aidan Connor on 7 May 2018, in a storyline highlighting male suicide. The storyline gained much attention from the press. Ward has also spoken of his significant weight gain during his time on the show. He revealed that he gained three stone (42 lbs) and said that the tempting canteen food at Granada studios was partly to blame, although he was largely unconcerned by negative comments he received regarding this. He subsequently slimmed-down towards the end of his time on the show. After leaving the show, he was cast as a lead in the film, Stairs, a psychological drama. Upon release, however, the film was titled The Ascent, with its US title being Black Ops. In November 2022, it was announced that Ward would be releasing a compilation retrospective of his musical career to date, titled Anthology, which is due for release 9 December 2022. In an interview with Retro Pop Magazine,