Nottinghamshire has a mighty track record of famous faces on our TV screens. Amongst them are the soap stars who appear in hard-hitting story lines every week. Cheating, scamming and getting caught up in life-changing disasters is all in a day's work for them.
There are plenty of laughs too. Who can forget Sherrie Hewson's infamous waterbed scene in Corrie when she starred as Maureen Holdsworth alongside Ken Morley? The Beeston-born actress also played Lesley Meredith in Emmerdale from 2004 and 2006.
Over the border Ilkeston's William Roache is soap royalty, playing Ken Barlow on the cobbles since its first episode in December 1960. The acting legend, who turns 91 later this month, is listed in the Guinness World Records as the longest-serving living television actor in a continuous role.
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Then there's Chris Chittell, aka Eric Pollard, Emmerdale's longest actor of all time. The actor, who made his debut in the dales in 1986, was born in Hampshire but later made his home in Collingham, near Newark.
There's a whole host of other stars too in Emmerdale and Coronation Street. There are not so many in EastEnders, in fact, we're struggling to recall anyone but we could be wrong.
Here are some of those who have appeared on our tellies week in, week out including one or two you might not realise have their roots in Notts.
Lucy Pargeter
The actress who was born in Nottingham in March 1977 brings the drama to Emmerdale as Chas Dingle. She joined the soap in 2002 and became an integral part of the Dingle clan.
She made her debut dressed as a nun for the stag night of her cousin Marlon. Several months later after finding herself homeless she moves in with the Dingles and gets a job as barmaid at The Woolpack.
But two decades on her character hasn't had an easy ride. She's lost a child and her mother. But any sympathy from fans has been wiped out of late.
The actress even admitted she was worried for her character's future following the backlash over a recent storyline when she cheated on the soap's beloved Paddy, with bad boy Al Chapman. Some have called Chas "unbearable".
A former winner of the Best Actress accolade at the British Soap Awards, Lucy trained at Nottingham's Central Junior Television Workshop (as it used to be called) and attended New College. She's also a talented singer and in the 1990s was a member of the band Paperdolls, who toured with Boyzone. She's also had roles in Soldier Soldier, Dalziel and Pascoe, Anita and Me and another soap, Crossroads.
Chris Gascoyne
The Huthwaite actor is one of the leading stars in Coronation Street, joining the cast in 2000 during the soap's 40th anniversary live episode but his character Peter Barlow - son of stalwart Ken - was actually born on-screen during an episode screen in April 1965.
It's never dull in the life of Peter Barlow. His storylines have included numerous affairs, alcoholism, bigamy, being framed for murder and undergoing a liver transplant.
His character has run a bookies, has had a stint as landlord of the Rovers Return with Toyah Battersby, and he had a stake in Underworld. Barlow is currently on the straight and narrow and is supporting wife Carla as she recovers in a private psychiatric hospital.
Chris, who attended Ashfield School, started acting young, with the benefit of having the Central TV studios on his doorstep in Nottingham. He had early roles in the children's TV programme Murphy's Mob and the schools' series Starting Out. He also appeared in The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole as Barry Kent and Fusilier Tony Rossi in Soldier Soldier.
James Hooton
Carlton born and bred, a young James attended Frank Wheldon Comprehensive School. The 49-year-old Emmerdale star plays Sam Dingle and has appeared in more than 1,700 episodes since joining the soap in 1995. He burst onto the scene as a fresh-faced 21-year-old, whose character had been released from a young offenders' institution.
James' TV acting debut came at the age of 12 when he starred in the children's series Your Mother Wouldn't Like It. Other credits include Peak Practice and The Bill, and he appeared in Nottingham director Shane Meadows' first feature film, Twenty Four Seven, where he played the character 'Wolfman' Knighty.
His persona has been involved in some of the soap's most dramatic storylines. The 50th anniversary episode saw Sam close to death after a nasty incident with some farm machinery. A spoke went through his shoulder as a storm swept the Yorkshire village. Thankfully for fans he made a full recovery.
Kate Spencer
The 31-year-old, who hails from Beeston, played Corrie's Grace Vickers in Coronation Street. She made her debut on the famous cobbles in November 2019 as the ex-girlfriend of Michael Bailey, having previously appearing in daytime soap Doctors.
But she wasn't a likeable character, fooling her ex into believing he was the father of her daughter Tianna. She didn't ingratiate herself either when she signed away the parental rights to baby daughter Glory. She wheedled £20,000 out of the girl's grandparents Ed and Aggie Bailey on the condition she left Weatherfield for good. But she still came back...
Away from the Coronation Street set during the pandemic Kate busied herself working for West Bridgford letting agents Belvoir, tweeting her thanks for "welcoming me in with opening arms, teaching me all about property, giving me some sort of regularity over the last year and always having a giggle."
The actress is currently preparing to run the London Marathon on April 23 to raise money for Dementia UK after losing her beloved nan to the devastating condition.
Rosie Bentham
Rosie, 21, first appeared as Gabby Thomas in Emmerdale in January 2016. A former pupil of Nottingham's Emmanuel School, she like many of the city's other successful actors honed her skills at Nottingham's Television Workshop.
She previously appeared on stage in musicals including Oklahoma, Fiddler on the Roof, Sound of Music and Annie and starred in one episode of CBBC's Crackerjack in 2020.
Rosie was put forward for an audition by the acting school, when it was contacted by the soap. After four callbacks she landed the role of Gabby, taking over from an actress who had played her since birth. Rosie went on to be long-listed for the Best Soap Newcomer award at the TV Choice Awards.
The young actress was just 15 when she acted out tragic scenes, as her TV dad, Emmerdale's vicar Ashley, died. Life mirrored art in 2019 when Rosie's father John, chaplain of the University of Nottingham, died from a pulmonary embolism.
Cassie Bradley
Just like Nottingham's Vicky McClure, Cassie is passionate about working-class actors. Born and raised in Nottingham and Mansfield, she played Natalie Watkins in Coronation Street in 2019.
Playing a trainee barber, Cassie remained true to her roots and when a fan praised, on Twitter, her Nottingham access on the soap saying it gave her hope for her own career, she replied: "Never stop dreaming x #nottsduckssticktogether.”
A waitress from Nick Tilsley's Nottingham restaurant, she rocked the boat when she turned up in Weatherfield, making things very tricky for him after being involved in his scheme to defraud Audrey out of £80,000. Things got spicy when she shared a kiss with married David. National award nominations rolled in including Best Bad Girl at the Inside Soap Awards.
A star of stage and screen, Cassie is famed for her work with Sam Mendes and Marianne Elliott at the National Theatre and has had parts in Casualty and ITV's feature-length drama Torvill & Dean, where she played a spirited young skater called Leanne - performing all her own skating.
Last year Cassie returned to her roots to star in a video with Nottingham's Kingdom Rapper at Annie's Burger Shack, promoting his new single Big Steak.
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