Fans were gutted when Jacob Hay had no choice but to leave the cobbles - leading to an exit from Coronation Street for Jack James Ryan. The actor first arrived on the street as the bad boy back in 2021.
Viewers of the ITV soap were disgusted by the character as he groomed an impressionable Simon Barlow into joining his drugs gang. But it wasn't long before the character disappeared after crossing the gang's ring leader, Harvey Gaskell, who just so happens to be his uncle.
Last year, the character returned to the cobbles and secretly struck up a romantic relationship with Amy Barlow. He has since been able to turn his life around, getting a solid job at Underworld while also settling in with Amy's family. That was until his estranged dad made an appearance in Weatherfield.
In emotional scenes, Jacob was forced to leave after a drug deal went wrong and saw him issued a warning - and a beating - from his dad. Before he left, Jacob told Nick how his dad is smuggling drugs through the restaurant and he has no choice but to leave as Amy's life is in danger. Hearing Amy entering the flat, a desperate Jacob pretends he’s on the phone dealing drugs leaving Amy horrified to think he’s up to his old tricks.
Speaking about his exit, with Amy and his friends thinking the worst of him, Jack told the Manchester Evening News and other media: "It's crushing. It's because it's so unjust and there's nothing you can really do about it. They think he's been lying the whole time and he was just this drug dealer all along.
"It's heartbreaking. And it's not just for Jacob, it's heartbreaking for me as well." He added with a laugh: "Hashtag Justice for Jacob." He also shared how his final scenes on the soap weren't what he actually filmed on his last day on the Salford-based set. But it was still emotional.
But Corrie wasn't Jack's first role. The 24-year-old TV star previously appeared in programmes such as BBC drama Casualty and fellow ITV soap Emmerdale. In 2019 he played the role of Tyler in the Dale, who was one of the men involved in the stabbing of Ellis Chapman. In the same year he played Matt Davies in an episode of Casualty.
And while he can't say what it is yet, he does have more work in the pipeline. "I'm going to do that annoying thing that actors do when they tease something they can't really talk about..." he told us. "I have booked a job, really really excited for it. I start filming next month and I'll be filming for the next four months on that. I'm really excited and can't say anything at the moment but as soon as I can, I can't wait to reveal what I'm doing."
Away from the ITV soap, it may not come as a surprise to some to know that Manchester-born Jack isn't the only actor in his family. The soap star was delighted when his older sister, Rebecca, joined Corrie last year. Joining in December 2021, the actress spent three months playing Lydia Chambers, the bunny boiler ex of Adam Barlow.
Though Corrie wasn't Rebecca's first role as fans quickly recognised her. She previously revealed she appeared on ITV's other flagship show Emmerdale as the daughter of Dales legend Bob Hope. She appeared in 2001 and 2006 as Carly Hope then in December 2014 it was revealed that Carly would be returning to Emmerdale but that former Hollyoaks star Gemma Atkinson would be taking on the role which she did from 2015 to 2017.
However, she is probably best knwon for playing Debbie Gallagher in the gritty Manchester-based Channel Four comedy-drama Shameless from 2004 to 2009 and played the role from the age of 11. And from 2009 to 2011 she played pupil Vicki MacDonald in the Rochdale-based BBC One school-based drama Waterloo Road before playing hospital porter Gemma Dean in the BBC medical drama Casualty from 2017 to 2019.
Meanwhile, the pair's older brother, Charlie, starred in the ITV children's drama Children's Ward, the BBC soap Doctors and at the end of last year, he was starring as Dame Nellie Diggle in Robin Hood at The Oldham Colisuem. He has since been announced in the cast of Spring and Port Wine which starts at The Octagon Theatre in Bolton in February.
And their family is expanding as Jack recently shared his excitement at becoming an uncle. Rebecca announced she was pregnant just before the new year. The exciting news came months after she tied the knot with pilot Dan Acraman. "Can't believe I'm going to be an uncle," Jack shared in response on social media.
Jack also has a close bond with his co-stars. They may play partners on-screen but off-screen Jack and Elle Mulvaney, who plays Amy, are the best of friends. During his exit chat, Jack gushed: "Elle is an absolute dream. That girl deserves every accolade and I love her so much."
And last year, Jack had to deny the pair were an item. In an Instagram Q&A when asked if he and Elle were dating, Jack cheekily said: "She wishes!" before adding: "Nah, it’s all jokes. We’re just really good friends. Elle is like a sister to me."
The pair are also in a little Corrie gang with James Craven, who plays Aaron Sandford, and Harriet Bibby, who stars in the soap as Summer Spellman, with the four-piece often enjoying nights out and trips together and sharing snaps on Instagram.
During his time on Corrie, Jack has also used his profile to support The Teenage Cancer Trust. He was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2017 when he was 19-years-old. While going on to make a full recovery, Jack has previously shared how he feels 'grateful to be alive' and that his life on the cobbles is enriched further by what he has been through. "Every day I get on set I think: ‘Wow, this could have been so different,'" he said.
Jack explained that he was studying at drama school when he returned to his mum's house in Manchester for the Easter holidays and discovered a lump while his mum and Rebecca were downstairs. "My sister had a friend round. I screamed: ‘Rebecca! Rebecca!’ She ran upstairs and I told her that her friend had to go," he recalled to the Mirror. "She asked her to leave and she came back upstairs with my mum and I told them what I’d found."
Jack got booked into the doctors and was referred to hospital, where he had surgery to remove his left testicle and went on to receive a prosthetic replacement. Afterwards, he underwent chemotherapy to ensure that the cancer had not spread. Four months later he returned to his course at Guildford School of Acting in Surrey.
While he says he was 'lucky', the trauma understandably took its toll on Jack’s mental health and he stopped dating for a year. "I was struggling with my body image and I didn’t feel comfortable being intimate in that way with another person," he candidly told the publication. Jack had counselling, but what really helped him come to terms with what had happened was writing a play about his experiences, Me & My Left Ball in 2019.
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