Soaps often bring juicy and explosive storylines to our screens, many of them involving relationships. There’s always something gripping to watch when it involves murder, adultery and other major events rocking the cobbles and fictional villages.
Love stories are often a major theme in soap storylines, and some of these romances have extended off-screen as numerous actors found love in real life with their co-stars. Some of the couples worked together on the hit programmes such as ITV’s Coronation Street and Emmerdale or star in another soap entirely.
Thankfully, their relationships off-screen are not be as dramatic as the storylines soap character’s are often embroiled in and many soap actors have proven that romance can blossom on the job, with some even getting married and having children.
We have rounded up 11 couples who have worked together and are now dating from Emmerdale, Coronation Street and Hollyoaks.
Jeff Hordley, 55, and Zoe Henry, 53, star in Emmerdale together. The couple have been married since 2003 and have been in a relationship for over thirty years. They have two children together.Zoe has been in the Yorkshire-based soap since 2000 as Rhona Goskirk. Zoe first met Jeff in college which sparked the beginning of their relationship. Jeff has played Cain Dingle on the ITV soap opera Emmerdale for over 25 years.The pair live together in a quaint cottage in the Yorkshire Dales with their children and pets. They also reportedly grow their own produce on their huge allotment. They share a daughter named Violet and a son named Stan. Violet was born in 2005 and Stan was born in 2008.
Sally regularly shares updates with her Coronation Street co-star husband, Joe Duttine. He plays Tim Metcalfe in the show and previously told the ECHO how they keep their work and personal lives separate. She has been married to Joe since July 15, 2022. She was previously married to Ryan Pope.Actress Sally Carman plays Abi Webster, she has been on the show since 2017 and has also appeared in other shows, including Doctors, Heartbeat, Holby City, Shameless, and A is for Acid.Husband Joe said: “When we go places it can be a bit odd because people say it’s them two on Corrie and that can be a bit strange. But we tend to not really talk about work at home. Joe and Sally’s characters lead separate lives onscreen and the actor told the ECHO he hopes it stays that way. He said: “We’ve sort of said hello every now and then.”
TV stars Chris Chittell and Lesley Dunlop are renowned for their roles as Eric Pollard and Brenda Walker in Emmerdale. Away from the cameras, Chris and Lesley have been married since June 18, 2016. Their love story began on the set of Emmerdale, leading to their engagement in 2015 and marriage the next year.Their nuptials were a private event, attended by close family and friends. Both have children from previous relationships. Chris was formerly married to Caroline Hunt for 26 years before they separated in 2005, while Lesley has two daughters from a past relationship.Speaking to the Daily Record, he said: “It was weird. Somehow, we’d never met before, and we just kept bumping into each other at work. I can’t even remember if I asked her for a date or she asked me but she is wonderful and we’re very happy.”
Actress Amy Walsh and Toby-Alexander Smith got married in a stunning ceremony in Montenegro watched by 100 of their closest friends and family, in 2023. The couple first met back in 2019, after a chance encounter in the audience of Strictly Come Dancing, before getting together a year later.Amy plays the role of Tracy Metcalfe on ITV soap Emmerdale while fans may know Toby from his stint on EastEnders as Gray Atkins from 2019-2022. In September 2020, the storyline of domestic abuse ended with Gray murdering partner Chantelle.Amy and Toby-Alexander have a daughter named Bonnie-Mae, who was born in December 2021. The couple announced they were having a second child together in September. They live in East London.
