Coronation Street's Jack P Shepherd fans say they were 'starting to worry' as he issues update

Jack P Shepherd
-Credit: (Image: (Image: Instagram/@jackpshepherd88))


Corrie legend Jack P. Shepherd, who has become a household name as David Platt since 2000, sparked concern amongst his followers after hinting at a possible departure from the iconic cobbles.

Shepherd has seen his character transform from the cheeky troublemaker to a devoted family man married to Shona, all while trying to keep his son Max on the straight and narrow.

This week's episodes threw David back into chaos as he got caught up in the secret romance of Nick Tilsley and Toyah Battersby, which Leanne Battersby dramatically revealed.

In a nail-biting scene from Wednesday's show, David confronts Nick, pressing him to break off the affair following a near-miss with his wife Shona.

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Tension escalated during the celebrations for Max's 18th birthday when Leanne burst into the bistro ready to face her deceitful other half. Off the screen, Jack leads a much calmer existence than his on-screen persona and is a social media enthusiast with an impressive 395,000 Instagram followers, reports the Express.

This week, he charmed his fans by posting a nostalgic school photo, captioned: "Age 8," as reported by the Liverpool Echo. His on-screen partner, Shona, portrayed by Julia Goulding, responded to the snap with "Stop it! Lil cutie." Ex-Corrie star Catherine Tyldesley also joined in, commenting "Omg stop."

Jack's throwback post won the hearts of many, including friends and co-stars Tina O'Brien, Alan Halsall, and Samia Longchambon, all of whom liked the post.

Jack's podcast, On The Sofa, hosted with Ben Price and Colson Smith, has kicked off a new season. The excited trio declared, "WE'RE BACK AND BIGGER THAN EVER! You can now listen to us THREE times a week! " Eager fans responded warmly, with one saying, "About time... I was starting to worry! " while another exclaimed, "How did I not know this? I'm going to go find it."

The return sparked cheers among followers, with comments like "Glad ya back boys missed you," and "So happy you're all back!!" In a move mirroring his co-star, Colson Smith has undergone a hair transplant for the new series; Jack P. Shepherd had a similar procedure in 2019.

Facing the pressures of fame, Shepherd opened up on Instagram about how it had eroded his confidence, admitting that at one point, he even thought about quitting Coronation Street and leaving his acting career behind.

Shepherd confided in his audience, "I decided to get it done as it was affecting my mental health. To the point where I considered giving up acting and not being in the public eye."

After enduring a wave of "hurtful" online criticism, Jack underwent a second hair transplant just a year after his first, defending his choice by saying: "I know some people will say that I am being incredibly vain having a second hair transplant so quickly after the first one. All I can say to that was that I needed to do it for my long-term mental well-being. I have been in Corrie for 20 years now - ever since I was 12."

He shared insights into the demands of his role and the toll of social media scrutiny, adding: "I know I have been incredibly lucky and love working with such a fantastic group of actors but the relentless schedules take their toll on your mental health, particularly when you have been through as much trauma as David Platt. People pick over your appearance on social media every day and some of those comments really hurt."

Now more content than ever with his role on the show, Jack is looking forward to what's next for his character David. He has previously told the Liverpool Echo about the importance of his character's adaptability for his longevity on the series.

He commented: "In order to keep the character in the show he couldn't be bad all the time. He was quite bad when he was in his teens and the show wanted to keep hold of the character so they had to ultimately stop that character being bad. You can always understand his behaviour and understand the reasons for his behaviour."

Furthermore, he observed: "He's a proper mix and he can be quite funny. People like to laugh I suppose and they can relate to him. He also has his struggles which I think people can relate to as well. He's a loveable rogue."