Ex-Coronation Street child stars now from tragic death to major career change
Share your email to get soaps interviews, spoilers from the Star
We have more newsletters
Coronation Street has been known to have a multitude of memorable stars walk on the famous cobbles.
However, only a few eagle-eyed fans may recognise that not all characters are played by the same person for the duration of their time on the show, and some have been changed quite frequently over the years.
Child actors are often replaced a fair amount of times, especially when very young, with some characters being played by twin babies or even someone of the opposite sex.
READ NEXT: Emmerdale child stars now – Soap axe, career u-turn, X-Factor dad and transformation
Daily Star has taken a look at some of the characters who have been played by different people over the years, and where the old stars are now.
Tracy Barlow
Fiery brunette Tracy Barlow has been a staple character in Coronation Street since the late 70s.
But some viewers may not know that the daughter of Deirdre Barlow and Ray Langton has been played by an incredible four different actresses.
Young Christabel Finch first took on the role as baby Tracy from 1977 to 1983. This was then followed by child actress Holly Chamarette who played the iconic part from 1985 to 1988.
Not so long after, actress Dawn Acton portrayed the role of Tracy before she was replaced by current actress Kate Ford who took on the role in 2002.
Kate's portrayal of Tracy was a lot more darker and sinister to the those that played the character before as she embodied more of a mischievous and conniving side.
Christabel, who played Tracy as a baby, continued acting with the Guernsey Youth Theatre. She later became a drama teacher and moved to Australia.
Holly from Oldham, played Tracy for three years during the 80s but decided to embark on a completely different career after her Corrie stint and later studied to become a doctor.
Dawn, who was originally from Ashton, played Tracy in her teens and was often seen listening to music while in her room.
In the programme, Dawn's character left for London in the late 90s, but later returned in 1999 to marry carpet fitter Robert Preston.
Away from the cameras it was rumoured that Dawn, who went on to become a DJ, was invited back to Corrie to re-audition for the role of Tracy in 2002, however, the part was given to Kate who plays her today.
Jamie Armstrong
While TV star Joe Gilgun might be famous for his roles in Brassic and Emmerdale, the star got his first taste of acting in ITV soap Coronation Street.
In 1994, he played Jamie Armstrong – the son of Diedre Barlow's friend Tricia, who was caught shoplifting at BettaBuy.
Jamie was constantly getting into trouble on the soap, with many Weatherfield residents pointing the finger of blame at him if something went wrong.
Joe later left the soap in 1997, when his character Jamie departed Weatherfield with his mum Tricia, following her prison stint.
In 2006, Joe made a return to the soaps when he played Marlon Dingle's brother Eli in rival ITV programme Emmerdale.
Eli got into mountains of trouble during his time in the dales, as well as developing a crush on Priya Sharma while working at the sweet factory.
However, Joe's character later bid a tearful goodbye to brother Marlon before leaving the dales after an attempted theft in 2010.
Since his soap days, Joe has risen to new heights of fame in films including This Is England and its TV spin-off series, where he played Woody, as well as in hit comedy series Brassic, opposite fellow Coronation Street star Michelle Keegan.
Away from acting, Joseph has also spoken openly about his mental health and living with bipolar disorder, raising awareness of mental health during interviews.
He told The Guardian: "I mean, I understand that it makes me vulnerable, but I’m prepared to go to that place for the sake of anyone who’s suffered like I have."
He added: "Do not make the assumption that because somebody has got mental health issues they are weak-minded.
"That person is terrified, anxious. Getting out of bed alone has been a huge, monumental task. Getting in that shower, brushing the teeth, somehow managing to eat their breakfast… Some will have children, and they have to go and do exactly the same thing you do at work, only they’re suffering like that.
"Now that to me is a f*****g hard dude or gal."
Nick Tilsley
Nick Tilsley is the oldest of Gail Rodwell's children.
Although the current Nick, who is played by Ben Price, is a very familiar face on the cobbles, the younger version of the character was first portrayed by Warren Jackson.
Warren took on the role as Nick in January 1981 to September 1996 and was chosen for the role after being suggested by family friend Christopher Quinten, who played his on-screen dad Brian Tilsley.
The young actor continued to play the role until he was 16, when he took what he expected to be a short break to complete his GCSE exams.
But the young star was soon replaced with pop heartthrob Adam Rickitt in 1997.
During the late noughties, the role of Nick was recast again with Ben taking on the part in 2009.
After leaving Coronation Street Adam continued a career in music but later went on to star in Hollyoaks.
Recently the star was pictured gleaming happily after he was given the permission to reopen his Dexter and Jones gin bar in Knutsford.
Sarah Platt
Another one of Gail's children that has changed over the years is her daughter Sarah Louise Platt.
Leah King and her twin sister Lynsay first took on the role of newborn Sarah in February 1987 and they shared the role until the end of April that year.
Unfortunately Leah passed away from cot death at six months and Lynsay took on the part full-time until 1999.
During the same year the character was recast with Tina O’Brien.
Tina took on the role and was hit with a major storyline, when her character discovered she was expecting her first child Bethany at the age of 13.
Bethany Platt
Sarah's daughter Bethany has also been changed quite a few times over the years too.
Swinton-born Emily Walton along with her twin sister Amy were first chosen to play Bethany Platt from June 2000 until December 2007.
Since leaving the soap, the twins went down very different paths, with them turning to gymnastics instead.
In September 2007 the character was played by Mia Cookson.
After a few years away, the character later returned to the street and was taken over by Lucy Fallon in 2015.
Lucy left Corrie in 2020.
David Platt
Gail's youngest son David has also been played by other actors.
Before actor Jack P Shepherd took on the incredible part, Manchester child actor Thomas Ormson was David Platt from December 1990 to March 2000.
But actor Jack took on the role and portrayed a much more darker side to the original character.
As he entered his teens, David quickly became a menace to society and gave his mother a whirlwind of chaos, while keeping viewers on the edge of their seats.
Die-hard fans may recall he time David pushed his own mum down the stairs, and when he cause his niece to take ecstasy. And who can forget when he was driven into the canal by his evil step-dad.
Now David's persona is much more tamer as he settles into family life with his children.
Rosie Webster
Rosie Webster, who is also known to some as "dozy Rosie" is most remembered by Corrie fans for being played by actress and I’m A Celebrity star Helen Flanagan.
But before Helen took on the part, Manchester child actress Emma Collinge landed the role of Kevin and Sally’s eldest daughter at the age of 10.
Child star Emma left the soap in 1999 to dedicate more time to gymnastics.
She later appeared in an episode of the children’s programme Roger and the Rottentrolls in 2003.
Sophie Webster
Another Webster child that underwent a change was the character Sophie Webster.
Audenshaw actress Brooke Vincent is best known to fans for playing Rosie’s younger sister Sophie Webster, who later became very proud to be recognised as the nation’s favourite lesbian after her portrayal of the soap’s first lesbian love story with the character Sian Powers.
However before headstrong Brooke took on the role of feisty Sophie, the part was originally played by Ashleigh Middleton.
Actress Emma Woodward then played the part until 2004, at the age of 10, but left the programme to concentrate on her schoolwork.
Jack Webster
Young Jack Webster was initially played by twins Maddox and Jaxon Beswick September 2010.
The youngest child of Kevin Webster was later recast and taken over by Kyran Bowes in May 2016.
Jack is the result of mechanic Kevin’s fling with the late Molly Dobbs.
Molly's pregnancy was kept a secret as she continued to lie to her husband Tyrone and tried to convince him that the baby was his.
Kyran’s first epic scenes as Jack were in Blackpool for a storyline which involved Jenny Bradley saving him from being hit by a moving tram, like her father Alan.
Liam Connor Jr
Maria Connor's first son that she shares with her late husband Liam was first played by a girl.
Young Imogen Moore from Huddersfield filmed the character’s birth scenes in 2009 when she was just two weeks old.
Imogen's sister Sophia was a child star and played Emmerdale’s Sarah Sugden, the daughter of Debbie Dingle and Andy Sugden, for 10 years from 2007.
Later on, the role of Liam Jr was taken over by Logan Blake Pearson, who left when actress Samia Longchambon took maternity leave.
He was then recast by twins Ollie and Elliott Barnett who both shared the role for two years from 2010 to 2012.
Maria's child is now played by Charlie Wrenshall.
Simon Barlow
Finally, Peter Barlow's son Simon Barlow has also been changed a few times while in the soap.
Simon was first played by baby Daniel Whelan but Daniel was quickly replaced by twins Jake and Oscar Hartley.
Years later when Simon returned to the street in 2008 with Peter's ex partner Lucy, the role was played by Blackburn youngster Alex Bain.
The child star became a much-loved character in the programme and went on to win the Best Young Performance prize at the British Soap Awards.
Alex's portrayal of Simon has certainly evolved over the years and has been the centre of several hard-hitting storylines.
Not so long ago, Simon was caught in a drug scandal and had to go into hiding in order to save members of his family.
Coronation Street airs Monday, Wednesday and Friday on ITV
For more of the latest showbiz news from Daily Star, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here.
READ MORE:
Corrie's Millie Gibson shares sweet message to co-star after swift exit from soap
Coronation Street's Amy Barlow star looks worlds away from soap role in glammed up snap
Coronation Street DNA shock as Stu Carpenter investigation results leave Ayla reeling
- Coronation Street
Source: Read Full Article