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11 things you never knew about Corrie's Jack P Shepherd

Photo credit: ITV
Photo credit: ITV

From Digital Spy

Coronation Street's Jack P Shepherd is probably the most talked-about actor in soap right now. The star, who's been a firm fixture on the cobbles since 2000, is at the centre of the show's first ever male rape storyline, and he impressed fans last week with his powerful portrayal of the dark plot.

Jack is no stranger to tackling big storylines, but this is probably the toughest challenge of his acting career so far. The plot is set to last until at least the summer, meaning that we're going to see a lot of Jack on our screens. Here are 11 interesting facts about the guy who grew up on the Street...

1. He's a proper Northern lad

Photo credit: Gareth Cattermole / Getty Images
Photo credit: Gareth Cattermole / Getty Images

Jack was born in Pudsey, Yorkshire, on January 14, 1988, to – as he puts it on his Twitter bio – 'two Shepherds'. These are mum Janet, an estate agent, and dad Peter, a council worker. The youngest of his parents' three children, Jack is the first one in the Shepherd clan to pursue an acting career.

He clearly caught the acting bug at a young age – first hitting our screens when he was just 11 years old, playing a character called Carl Smith in sleepy ITV drama Where the Heart Is. He opted to use his middle initial 'P' as his stage name, as there was already a well-known actor called Jack Shepherd on the circuit.

2. He worked with Tina O'Brien before Corrie

In 1999, only months before they were cast in the roles of David and Sarah Lou Platt, Jack and Tina played brother and sister Charlie and Adele Kolakowski in an episode of the brilliant BBC One drama Clocking Off. We've popped a clip from that ep above for you to watch.

Incidentally, their on-screen mum was played by none other than Corrie icon Sarah Lancashire, who was just starting to pave a career for herself away from the cobbles. Tina was signed up by the Street later that year, and Jack joined the soap in 2000. Whether it was a pure coincidence, or one of the Corrie producers was a Clocking Off fan, who knows?

3. He's the second actor to play David Platt

For the first 10 years of David's life, the character was played by Thomas Ormson, but at the dawn of the Millennium, the actor decided to call it a day. Corrie cast 12-year-old Jack as the new face to play Gail and Martin's son, and the youngster made his screen debut on April 26, 2000 – episode 4811 to be exact.

For the first couple of years, David was just your average cheeky scamp who occasionally broke the law, but after the whole Richard Hillman serial killer drama, he morphed into a full-blown teenage monster – capable of very dark deeds, mainly directed at long-suffering Gail.

4. He's an award-winning villain

Photo credit: Gareth Cattermole / Getty Images
Photo credit: Gareth Cattermole / Getty Images

2008 was a memorable year for David – he pushed Gail down the stairs, attacked Ken Barlow, bashed up several cars, and even lashed out a policewoman! Fans couldn't get enough of Demon Dave, and it was no wonder that Jack scooped the coveted gong for Best Villain at that year's British Soap Awards.

But it wasn't the first time the actor had been honoured for his on-screen evil alter ego – he was also the winner of the Best Bad Boy award at the Inside Soap Awards in 2007. Proving it definitely can be good being so bad!

5. He has his own acting school

Photo credit: ITV
Photo credit: ITV

When he's not doing his thing on the cobbles, Jack's busy nurturing young talent at his drama academy, 13 Performing Arts School. The star founded the school in 2013 with his former partner Lauren Shippey, and is one of the resident teachers at its locations in Manchester and Huddersfield.

Classes on offer for the 13 to 17-year-old pupils include drama, dance and singing, and there's just one rule – have loads of fun! In 2015, the academy was awarded a LAMDA qualification, and a couple of its students have gone on to star in Scott and Bailey and Sky drama Rovers. Jack's Corrie co-star Harry McDermott (who plays David's stepson Max) is also a member. We wonder if he gets mates' rates?!

6. He's a huge Nigel Havers superfan

Photo credit: Channel 4
Photo credit: Channel 4

While David probably wants to throttle the man who conned his gran and made off with thousands of pounds from his mum, Jack says he'd love to see the return of smooth criminal Lewis Archer.

When asked last year which one Corrie star he'd bring back, living or dead, Jack didn't hesitate in giving his answer. "It's got to be Lewis Archer, who is of course Sir Lord Nigel Havers, and he's just an absolute lad to be around," Jack said. "I miss him dearly, he's a brilliant actor, and I'd like to see him back!"

You and us both, Jack. See if you can pull some strings and make it happen, eh?

7. He made a movie with his on-screen brother

They might have had a tumultuous on-screen relationship, but behind the cameras, Jack and co-star Ben Price (aka Nick Tilsley) are firm friends. So much so, that when Ben wrote a script for his film Taubman, he asked Jack to star in it. The actor played an arrogant bureaucrat, trying to prevent a Jewish piano teacher (played by Corrie's Ian Puleston-Davies, aka Owen Armstrong) from getting a passport.

The trio were granted permission by ITV to shoot the production after hours in the Corrie studios, often burning the midnight oil to fit it all in with their daytime jobs. The finished production was shown at film festivals in Berlin, New York and Barcelona.

8. He's one of the Grouchy Young Men

Photo credit: Dave M. Benett / Getty Images
Photo credit: Dave M. Benett / Getty Images

It's not just David that gets narky – Jack is prone to being a bit grumpy from time to time. The actor was one of a group of famous tetchy 20 and 30-somethings (such as comedian Russell Kane, and ex-EastEnders star Rob Kazinsky) who featured in the Comedy Central series Grouchy Young Men (a spin-off from the BBC's Grumpy Old Men), ranting about all kinds of issues that wind them up in the 21st century.

The disgruntled gents gave their opinion on anything from the rise of the fame-hungry Z-listers, to the difficulties of dating in a modern world. Sadly there were only two series of the show between 2009 to 2011, but if you have come across one of the re-runs, it makes for entertaining viewing!

9. He wants more on-screen scenes with Dev

Photo credit: ITV
Photo credit: ITV

There are characters who naturally go together in Corrie – Mary and Norris, Peter and Carla, but David and Dev? Not an immediate pairing that springs to mind! Jack, however, is adamant that this is going to change.

"I want to work with Dev," he admitted during a recent interview with Metro. "I've been saying this for years, and so has Jimmi (Harkishin, who plays him). We need to do something with Dev and Dave. Comedy gold written all over it." Word to the Corrie writers – make these two drastically different worlds collide, would you?

10. He's a proud father