Ryan Thomas sparks outrage with Hilda Ogden fancy dress choice

Oh dear, Ryan… a little too soon, no?

The former Coronation Street star has sparked a bit of a hoo-hah by turning up to a soap convention dressed as Hilda Ogden – just weeks after actress Jean Alexander’s death.

The 32-year-old actor donned the soap icon’s famous headscarf and rollers to meet fans during the two-day Corrie convention in Toronto – and by all accounts was pretty happy with his new look.

“Ryan was loving pretending to be Hilda – he had the full costume and was doing the voice, too,” a source told The Sun.

“Most people thought it was funny, but a few found it disrespectful. One angry fan even walked away because they thought it was bad taste to dress up as Jean, especially on Halloween.”

Actress Jean Alexander notched up an incredible 23-years on the cobbles as much-loved nosy-parker Hilda. She died just three days after her 90^th birthday on October 13. And while some fans were offended that Ryan had donned Hilda’s flora pinny, others reckoned it’s exactly what Jean would have wanted.

“I think she would feel honoured and would see the funny side,” said Sun reader Mandy Starling on Facebook, while Rachel Kate added: “Definitely a tribute. How could it be seen as anything but? The mind boggles!!”

Ryan has struggled to pick up work since quitting the role of hunky builder Jason Grimshaw back in June, hence the exhausting 3,300-mile trip to star at the Toronto Corrie convention.

“Ryan’s new career path isn’t exactly going the way he’d originally had mapped out,” an insider said.

“He’s still pursuing his Hollywood dreams but needs to earn a living while he waits for it all to kick off, so he’s signed up to attend the event where he’ll do some meet and greets and pose for selfies with fans.”

Still, if Hollywood ever decides to make that Hilda Ogden blockbuster, they know who to call.