Coronation Street’s Sam actor Jude Riordan is the sibling of cobbles co-star in real life

Coronation Street’s Sam Blakeman star Jude Riordan has starred on the soap for several years, but he has some very famous family in the TV world

Coronation Street star Jude Riordan, who plays Sam Blakeman, comes from a family with strong ties to the entertainment industry.

Since joining the ITV soap in 2020 as Nick Tilsley’s (Ben Price) secret son, Sam has been at the forefront of several significant storylines.

One of the most notable storylines on the long-running show involved the tragic death of his mother, Natasha Blakeman (Rachel Leskovac), who was murdered by Harvey Gaskell (Will Mellor).

Recently, Sam’s mental health has taken a turn for the worse, with him experiencing hallucinations, culminating in a devastating psychotic breakdown that landed him in hospital this week.

Interestingly, Jude’s father is Paul Riordan, a seasoned television director who has worked on numerous episodes of Coronation Street, reports the Mirror. Paul’s successful career in television direction began with a stint on Hollyoaks, followed by credits on popular soaps like Emmerdale and Casualty.

In 2021, Paul joined forces with his son Jude on the set of Coronation Street. Jude shared a heartwarming photo of the two embracing on set, captioning it: “When you haven’t been well but can’t miss your first Corrie scene directed by yer Dad @paulrio27.”

In the previous year, the father and son duo had a photo op on the iconic Cobbles. The snap, taken near the street’s salon, was captioned “Another blockbuster with the Father @paulrio27 a busy couple of days!

“More bold choices. Back with him next week @coronationstreet”.

But the family connections don’t stop there. Jude’s brother Zach also made an appearance on the soap in 2022, portraying Oscar, Sam’s chess tournament rival. Jude took to social media to discuss his brother’s stint on the cobbles.

“When it was Bring Your Brother to Work Day […] Sam smashed Oscar out of the bistro. BEST DAY so far,” Jude posted after the episode aired.

The revelation left viewers gobsmacked, with one fan responding: “Didn’t realise that was your real brother @JudeRiordan wow how lovely! ! They added: ” They added: “Fab having a scene together playing Chess Rivals! ! Will have to watch again on Catch-up.”

Coronation Street airs Monday to Friday at 8:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX