ITV Coronation Street fans stunned as they find out real-life mum and son appeared on soap
Coronation Street stars have more in common than just their on-screen roles, with several real-life family members sharing the spotlight on the cobbles. Over the years, the ITV soap has seen siblings, cousins, and even parent-child duos grace its set.
Notable examples include cousins Brooke Vincent and Ellie Leach, as well as the late Rick Neelan (Greg Wood), who was the real-life brother of footballer Tommy Orpington (Matt Milburn). However, fans were recently taken aback by a mother-son duo that appeared on the show years ago.
In 1985, Sue Jenkins joined Coronation Street as Gloria Todd, a regular barmaid at the iconic Rovers Return, where she worked alongside Julie Goodyear's famous character, Bet Lynch. Beyond her Corrie stint, Sue also portrayed Jackie Corkhill in Brookside from 1992 to 2001 and made a brief appearance in Emmerdale in 2008 as Bonnie Drinkwater.
READ MORE: ITV Coronation Street Betsy's secret 'exposed' - and it's not looking good for DS Swain
READ MORE: Coronation Street star Bernie Winter's off-screen life with Emmerdale wife
Interestingly, Sue's son is none other than Richard Fleeshman, who also had a role in Coronation Street. Richard played Craig Harris, who joined the cast in 2002 as part of the Harris family, who were under witness protection. His character, Craig, had some significant moments on the show, reports the Daily Star.
He adopted a goth lifestyle, much to his father's disapproval, and became Rosie Webster's (portrayed by Helen Flanagan) first boyfriend. The plot thickened when Katy Harris, Craig's sister, murdered their father following a heated argument about her clandestine relationship with Martin Platt.
Their mother, Angela Harris, attempted to protect Katy, but overwhelmed by guilt, Katy took her own life. In the aftermath, Craig planned to flee to Berlin with Rosie, but ultimately departed alone, bidding farewell to the cobbles in 2006 for good.
The revelation of Sue and Richard's time on Corrie left fans online stunned. On X, previously known as Twitter, one viewer posted about Sue's stint on Corrie. Another fan responded: "That's Richard fleeshmans mum!" Another person commented: "Wow, all this time watching and I never knew that, I can see her son in that photo now." A third joined the conversation, stating: "Her real life son played Craig Harris, son of Psycho Tommy!"
Coronation Street airs Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX