7 very famous people you forgot were in Coronation Street!

Yep, they've all been in Corrie!

Coronation Street has been on our screens for nearly 60 years and in that time a huge number of famous faces have popped up on the cobbles.

Here we look back at some of the big names you might have forgotten were on Coronation Street...

Princes Charles

Prince Charles chats with Sue Nicholls, aka Audrey Roberts, in Coronation Street in 2000

Prince Charles shared a scene with Audrey in Coronation Street for their live episode

Prince Charles appeared as himself in Coronation Street’s historic live episode in December 2000. His big scene, which was actually shot earlier in the day as he visited the Corrie set, saw him on a trip to Weatherfield where he met local Councillor Audrey Roberts.

Joanna Lumley

From Absolutely Fabulous to her popular travelogues, Joanna has become a national treasure. Back in the 1970s though she did a bit of flirting with Ken Barlow as a character called Elaine. Ken was a young teacher when he was introduced to headmaster’s daughter Elaine. Romeo Ken pursued Elaine, but she ended up knocking him back. Unlucky Ken!

Arthur Lowe

Arthur Lowe in Coronation Street in the 1960s with Eileen Derbyshire (Emily)

No we're not kidding Mr Hitler, Arthur Lowe really was in Corrie. Here he is as Leonard Swindley with Eileen Derbyshire as Emily (pic: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Arthur will always be best remembered for his wonderful portrayal of the delightfully pompous Captain Mainwaring in classic comedy Dad’s Army. But before Arthur started on Dad’s Army in the late 1960s, he appeared on the cobbles in nearly 200 episodes as clothing manager Leonard Swindley.

Lennard Pearce

Lennard as Grandad alongside Del and Rodney in Only Fools and Horses

Lennard as Grandad alongside Del and Rodney in Only Fools and Horses (pic: Victor Watts/REX/Shutterstock)

Lennard achieved legendary status as Del and Rodney’s useless but adorable Grandad in Only Fools and Horses. The veteran star played Grandad – who can forget the famous chandelier scene?! – until his death in 1984. But before having anything to do with Peckham and dodgy deals he turned up in Corrie working for brewers Newton & Ridley in 1969.

Holly Willoughby

Holly Willoughby in Coronation Street

Holly with some very special guests on the This Morning sofa! (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

This Morning hosts Holly and Phillip Schofield made a cameo in Coronation Street last year as part of Rosie Webster’s exit storyline. Rosie, Craig and Gemma came onto the famous This Morning sofa to discuss their roles in taking down a drug lord. And Holly’s hilarious appearance was a big hit with fans!

June Brown

No, we’ve not made a mistake! We know that June is of course known to millions of EastEnders fans as Dot Cotton, but way before that she popped up on rival soap Corrie. Back in the early 1970s June played Mrs Parsons, mother of Tony Parsons, and during her three episodes she even had tea with Ena Sharples!

Joan Collins

Joan Collins

From Dynasty to Weatherfield... Joan has also been in Corrie (pic: Geoffrey Swaine/REX/Shutterstock)

Joan achieved TV immortality as the dreaded Alexis Colby in Dynasty. But a lesser known part of her career came in 1997 when she appeared as herself in Corrie spin-off Viva Las Vegas, in which she shared a scene with Jack (Bill Tarmey) and Vera Duckworth (Elizabeth Dawn).

David Hollingsworth
Editor

David is the What To Watch Editor and has over 20 years of experience in television journalism. He is currently writing about the latest television and film news for What To Watch.

Before working for What To Watch, David spent many years working for TV Times magazine, interviewing some of television's most famous stars including Hollywood actor Kiefer Sutherland, singer Lionel Richie and wildlife legend Sir David Attenborough. 

David started out as a writer for TV Times before becoming the title's deputy features editor and then features editor. During his time on TV Times, David also helped run the annual TV Times Awards. David is a huge Death in Paradise fan, although he's still failed to solve a case before the show's detective! He also loves James Bond and controversially thinks that Timothy Dalton was an excellent 007.

Other than watching and writing about telly, David loves playing cricket, going to the cinema, trying to improve his tennis and chasing about after his kids!