Coronation Street has made household names of its cast, including Maria Connor star Samia Longchambon, Stephen Reid actor Todd Boyce and Sam Blakeman actor Jude Riordan.
But did you know that some of the cast had hidden TV roles before rising to soap fame?
From Hollywood blockbusters to rival soap EastEnders, iconic children’s TV dramas and BAFTA-nominated comedy series, the Coronation Street stars have made some surprise appearances on screen.
READ MORE: Corrie Denise Osbourne star now – soap co-star husband, health woes and unrecognisable
Here, Daily Star takes a closer look at Corrie star’s hidden roles before soap fame.
Bill Fellows (Stu Carpenter)
(Image: Apple TV)
Bill Fellows has fast become a fan favourite on the cobbles, after he arrived in 2021 as Stu Carpenter.
However he has a long acting career dating back to 1982, with Bill appearing in iconic children’s TV shows including Byker Grove and Julia Jekyll and Harriet Hyde.
That’s not all, as he also had soap stints in Heartbeat as a taxi driver in 1996, a chaplain in EastEnders in 2006 and multiple roles in Doctors between 2003 to 2020.
From there he has not left our screens, appearing in Waking the Dead, Father Brown, Broadchurch, Vera and most recently, landing the role of George Cartrick in hit Apple TV comedy Ted Lasso.
Jude Riordan (Sam Blakeman)
(Image: ITV)
Jude Riordan had two roles in not one, but two huge TV series after playing Sam Blakeman in Coronation Street, as well as Tyler Croft in Sky comedy series Brassic.
He’s not the only Corrie star to appear in Brassic though, as his mum Erin is played by none other than cobbles alumni Michelle Keegan.
The young actor has shared sweet snaps from his time on the Brassic set, including a photograph of him with Michelle and another child star while filming the latest series of the BAFTA nominated comedy.
(Image: Jude Riordan Instagram)
Smiling for the camera, Jude captioned the post: “These are pics from my last day on Brassic 5 from the other week.
“Had a really great last day, love it when there’s other kids on set.”
Jude may be young, but his talents have certainly not gone unnoticed, with the star winning Best Newcomer at the National Television Awards 2021 and the Pride of St Helens Arts Awards in the same year.
Samia Longchambon (Maria Connor)
(Image: @ SamiaLongchambon/Instagram)
Maria Connor star Samia Longchambon sent fans wild in 2022 after she shared a throwback snap of her and a number of famous faces on the set of iconic drama Children’s Ward.
After landing her debut TV role in an episode of Cracker in 1994, Maria played Charlotte in Children’s Ward one year later.
From Heartbeat to The Life Force and Doctors, she soon stepped onto Coronation Street in 2000, where she has continued to delight viewers ever since.
She was not the only famous face to feature in Children’s Ward though, as a young Danny Dyer and Corrie co-star Jane Danson also featured in the stunning throwback snap that Samia shared.
Alan Halsall (Tyrone Dobbs)
(Image: BBC)
Alan Halsall is another of Corrie’s long running stars after he joined the soap in 1998 as Tyrone Dobbs.
However he looked completely unrecognisable as a teenager in TV drama Hetty Wainthrop Investigates, which was one of his first TV roles.
Like his Corrie co-stars, Alan appeared in rival soap Heartbeat before going on to star in Queer as Folk and CITV series Matt’s Million.
Yet it is his role as Tyrone Dobbs that he known best for, with the actor winning Outstanding Serial Drama Performance at the National Television Awards in 2013.
Todd Boyce (Stephen Reid)
Todd Boyce has fans talking on social media, as his serial killer character Stephen Reid continues his reign of terror on the cobbles.
Long before he played Audrey Robert’s money swindling son though, he hit Hollywood fame in films such as The Kings Man in 2021 where he played Dupont – as well as starring as a judge in 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express.
That’s not all, as he played a TV reporter in Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, a Chief of Police in Kick Ass 2 and even starred opposite music icon Kylie Minogue in 1989’s The Delinquents.
Away from Hollywood, he has certainly been busy on TV too as he appeared in The Crown as a General before stepping back onto Coronation Street.
Coronation Street airs on ITV1 and ITVX
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
