Coronation Street fans stunned after realising two stars are real-life mum and son
From heartwarming scenes to dramatic showdowns, this family duo's connection adds a whole new layer to the iconic Weatherfield drama.
4
4
Back in 1985, Sue Jenkins strutted onto Coronation Street as Gloria Todd, the cheeky barmaid at the famous Rovers Return.
She quickly became a staple behind the bar, rubbing shoulders with soap legend Julie Goodyear, aka Bet Lynch.
But Sue's soap career didn't stop there - she spent nine years playing Jackie Corkhill in Brookside from 1992 to 2001, then popped up in Emmerdale for a quick five-episode stint as Bonnie Drinkwater in 2008.
But there's a twist soap that fans didn't see coming.
Sue's got a famous son who also rocked the Corrie cobbles.
Richard Fleeshman, who played Craig Harris, joined the cast in 2002 as part of the witness protection Harris family.
Craig's story was packed with drama - adopting a goth look that drove his dad mad and becoming Rosie Webster's first boyfriend.
The tension exploded when his sister Katy murdered their dad after a messy fallout over her secret fling with Martin Platt.
After the family tragedy, Katy took her own life, and Craig planned to run off to Berlin with Rosie.
But in the end, he left Weatherfield alone, waving goodbye to the cobbles for good in 2006.
Ex-Coronation Street & Strictly star 'headed for divorce' after just two years as she deletes husband from social media
For years, viewers have watched them on-screen without suspecting a thing - but behind the scenes, their bond runs much deeper than just acting.
The revelation that Sue Jenkins and Richard Fleeshman share a real-life Corrie connection has left fans absolutely gobsmacked on social media.
Taking to X - formerly Twitter - one wrote: "That's Richard fleeshmans mum!"
Soap's most harrowing teen storylines
We take a look at other harrowing teen soap storylines from soaps Coronation Street, EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks.
Belle Dingle's schizophrenia in Emmerdale - Belle's (Eden Taylor-Draper) traumatic journey in Emmerdale took a dark turn when, after accidentally killing her best friend Gemma at just 16, her mental health began to spiral.
The storyline, which saw Belle struggling with her grief and guilt, showcased her battle with hearing Gemma's voice inside her head, leading to a dramatic decline in her well-being.
Hannah Ashworth's anorexia in Hollyoaks - Viewers were horrified as they watched Hannah (Emma Rigby), a seemingly innocent teen, spiral into dangerous behavior, starving herself in an attempt to achieve what she thought was the ideal body.
As Hannah's condition worsened, the storyline became more intense, culminating in her being hospitalised for two months as she fought for her life.
Bethany Platt's grooming ordeal in Coronation Street - Vulnerable schoolgirl, played by Lucy Fallon, was at the centre of one of Corrie's darkest storylines to date when she fell under the spell of her older boyfriend and sexual predator.
The controversial scenes saw Nathan groom and manipulate the 16-year-old before coercing her into sleeping with his friends, with one of them raping her.
Whitney Dean's abuse from Tony in EastEnders - Since the age of 12, she had been in a twisted relationship with her stepmum Bianca's boyfriend, Tony King. The predator had groomed young Whit (Shona McGarty), making her believe she was in love and planning to run away with him.
On her 16th birthday, the traumatised teen finally revealed the years of abuse to Bianca. Tony was swiftly sent to prison sentenced for 13 years.
A third penned: "Wow, all this time watching and I never knew that, I can see her son in that photo now."
Now 36, Richard is a Broadway and West End actor who has starred in everything from Legally Blonde to Ghost the Musical and Company.
He's currently performing as the unnamed Soldier in Stephen Sondheim's final work Here We Are at the National Theatre.
Meanwhile, cousins Brooke Vincent, who played Sophie Webster, and Ellie Leach, who played Faye Windass, also both appeared on the ITV soap.
And Greg Wood, who played the late Rick Neelan, was actually the real-life brother of Matt Milburn, who played footballer Tommy Orpington.
Coronation Street airs on ITV1 and ITVX.
4
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Disgruntled ex-employee's fury after boss sends him an outrageous text request
A fired employee has sparked a humorous debate after exposing a shameless request from his former boss. The text message seemed genuine and polite, however it has transpired that this particular manager was asking the man to come back and train his own replacement just days after being let go. In a now-viral TikTok video, British career expert Ben Askins shared the shocking text message exchange that left thousands of viewers gobsmacked, with many dubbing the boss's request 'delusional' and 'ridiculous.' The clip, which has amassed more than 175,000 views, shows the boss pleading with the sacked staffer to return and train the new hire on the company's ticketing system. Outrageously, he was offering nothing more than a coffee in exchange. 'This boss was really pushing his luck!' Ben captioned the video. 'Situations like this can be easily avoided,' after he too seemed shocked by the lack of regard the boss had for the ex-worker. 'Hey, I know this probably isn't the best time to ask, but we're struggling with the new ticketing process. Is there any chance you could come in and run the new guy through it?' the employer messaged over text. To which the disgruntled ex-employee clapped back: 'Are you having a laugh? You fired me last week?' Lacking any regard for their feelings the employee replied: 'I know, but I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important. It shouldn't take you long. I know this is awkward, I promise you will get a coffee for the favour.' In the video, Ben chimed in adding his own opinion on the matter, joking that a mere coffee for his time was 'quite alright, then,' as he laughed. Surprisingly, the ex-employee replied with an olive branch to help, but felt remuneration was only fair for his time: 'I will do it. But I want it to be a remote tutorial, and I will charge you for half a day.' 'Remote is fine, but half a day's pay? This will only take a few minutes?' the employer replied, clearly surprised at the request. 'That is the deal.' Begrudgingly his terms were met, but not without a small dig at his audaciousness of actually being remunerated for his time and effort: 'Fine, but I am disappointed this is the way you are playing this,' the boss replied. Ben, who frequently posts career advice and work-related scenarios, was stunned by the entitlement on display. 'Firstly, let's be very clear,' he said. He does not have to do this favour. So the fact that he's charging is completely okay. 'He's giving up his time. He really doesn't have to do it, so the idea that this boss doesn't think he should pay is absolutely ridiculous.' He continued by saying that the text exchanges was 'a good example of why companies need proper training guides and onboarding processes - so you don't end up in situations like this.' Hundreds of Ben's viewers weighed in on the text exchange too, and they didn't hold back. The comments under the video lit up with support for the ex-employee, with many saying he should've asked for far more than just half a day's pay. 'Half a day? I'd charge them my consultancy fee and it would be astronomical,' one user wrote. 'I wouldn't even answer the message,' said another. 'At this point he's not under contract, he's a consultant. He can charge what he wants.' 'I'd reply two words and the second word would be 'off,' joked one. 'Half a days pay? He doesn't work there no more so his days pay is zero and half of 0 is 0.' While some users said they would've hung up or blocked the boss altogether, others applauded the ex-employee's cool-headed professionalism, particularly for negotiating remote work and payment. The viral saga has become a cautionary tale for workers everywhere, especially in industries where employees are often expected to go above and beyond, even after being let go, it seems.
Times
an hour ago
- Times
Reviving the lost art of learning and reciting poetry
J. Alfred Prufrock certainly makes for more pleasurable listening than the Shipping Forecast or the typical dire warnings about warm weather. Those tuned in to Radio 4 before 8am on Tuesday will have enjoyed Freddie Fox, scion of the acting dynasty, reciting TS Eliot in tremendous tones — the morning spread out against the sky. The occasion for this recital was a fine one. Monday marked this year's finals of Poetry by Heart, a national competition for reciting poetry. Pupils from across England descended on Shakespeare's Globe to recite their favourite stanzas. Some 200,000 children have taken part in the competition since it was founded in 2013, supported by Andrew Motion, the poet laureate at the time, to encourage the teaching of poetry. • The power of poetry for kids Reciting poetry is something of a lost art. The compulsory requirement for students to learn poems was scotched from the curriculum in 1944. Yet in 2012, it made a surprise return to the English syllabus. Some teachers complained it was an outdated practice, yet the success of the Poetry by Heart competition suggests they were wrong. Plus, according to a study by Cambridge University, there are benefits to reciting poetry. Its Poetry and Memory Project concluded that those who memorised poems found it provided a useful container for thoughts, a comfort zone for the brain that helped forge new emotional connections. And which poem did it find was most commonly known for recital? The Owl and the Pussy-Cat. Fox, a patron of Poetry by Heart, explained why knowing great poems is important. 'It's a compass, a road map when it's in your head to navigate the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune … a way of giving words to those problems when you don't quite perhaps have the words yourself.' The pupils who appeared at the Globe can thank the work of Poetry By Heart for reviving this lost life skill.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Life Cycle of a Moth by Rowe Irvin review – captivating story of maternal love and male violence
In the woodland, beyond the fence, inside the old forester's hut, Maya and Daughter live in a world of rituals. The fence is secured with 'Keep-Safes' – fingernails, Daughter's first teeth, the umbilical cord that once joined them – to protect them from intruders. While their days are filled with chores, setting traps for rabbits and gathering firewood, every night they play a game they call 'This-and-That', in which they take it in turns to choose an activity – hair-brushing, dancing, copying – before saying their 'sorrys and thank yous' in the bed they share. From the beginning of British author Rowe Irvin's captivating debut novel, it is clear that Maya has created this life for herself and her daughter – who calls her mother 'Myma' – as a refuge from the brutality of the world beyond the fence's perimeter. Irvin's tale switches between two narrative strands: present-day chapters narrated by Daughter, a naive, spirited girl who is as much woodland creature as she is person; and more distant sections detailing Maya's rural upbringing with an alcoholic father and withdrawn mother, and the acts of male violence that led her to flee. Maya has taught Daughter only the words she needs for their existence, so although Daughter is 15, her language is childlike: 'Sweat dries in the furry unders of my arms.' Later, Daughter is out in the woods: 'Touch finger and thumb together now to make a circle for peering through. Move slow, pointing my seeing-hole at ground and tree and sky.' It's a feat that Irvin maintains this playful, almost incantatory voice in all Daughter's sections across these 300 pages. Maya tells Daughter that their rituals protect them against 'Rotters', people living beyond the fence, who are 'empty on the inside … hollow'. If a Rotter were to intrude on their sanctuary, they would be eaten away like 'gone-bad apples'. 'Shudder with the thought of it,' Daughter thinks. But as the novel progresses, the manner in which Maya controls Daughter's understanding of the world grows more frightening. When Daughter finds a glove in the woods – she thinks it is a 'blue hand blanket', and laughs at 'the way the long fingers flap empty at the ends' – she takes it to show her mother, thinking it will make her laugh too. It doesn't. 'It came from a Rotter,' Maya says. 'One must have got in during the dark and left it as a trick … You shouldn't have touched it.' Later, she is warned against being too inquisitive when she meets Maya in the ash copse, a rope around her neck and a stump beneath her feet. Maya tells her: 'If I step off my neck will snap and I'll be dead … The questions you ask, she says then, they can do damage, Daughter'. Daughter only has more questions when she finds the Rotter who dropped the glove. The intruder, a man named Wyn, is the first human she has ever seen apart from Maya. Her mother rages against Wyn, until a strange force stops her killing him. Once Maya convinces Daughter she has 'cut the Rot' from him, he is invited inside their dwelling, first roped-up and kept on the floor, and then given a seat at the table. More and more, Daughter questions Maya's logic. How did Wyn get over the fence, with all their Keep-Safes? And why is it suddenly OK for them to be around a Rotter? Wyn's outside perspective further reveals the extent to which the belief system they live by is simply Maya's coping mechanism for personal trauma. We know she has created this world out of a desire to protect herself and her kin. But with her love, she has also been deceptive, sometimes cruel. In impish yet tender style, Irvin thoughtfully explores what it means for a mother to care for a daughter in a world where male violence is everywhere. Life Cycle of a Moth is the very best kind of fiction: with the book open, you feel utterly transported; once you close it, you see how cunningly it holds a mirror up to reality. I can't wait to read whatever Irvin writes next. Sign up to Inside Saturday The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend. after newsletter promotion Life Cycle of a Moth by Rowe Irvin is published by Canongate (£16.99). To support the Guardian buy a copy at Delivery charges may apply.
