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EXCLUSIVE Some of the biggest stars of Coronation Street, EastEnders and Emmerdale have united for a new staging of a classic play and looked back on their time on the world’s longest-running TV soap

Coronation Street, Emmerdale and EastEnders have been the UK’s biggest soaps for decades and now the stars truly have aligned as a group of actors from each of them have united to take on a stage production based on a film that is often one of the greatest films ever made

Soap legends Bill Ward, Tristan Gemmill, Ben Nealon and Gray O’Brien have teamed up together to appear as four of the jurors in Twelve Angry Men, which follows a jury as they deliberate the guilt of a boy on trial for murdering his father. All four of them have gone on to carve out successful careers on the boards since their time on screen, but Gray, 58,who played the villainous Tony Gordon on Coronation Street, has admitted he would be keen to return to TV if the opportunity was there.

“It’s not that I choose to do theatre, I’ll be brutally honest. It’s because nowhere in telly will employ me. That’s the thing about men coming out of soaps. Look at some of the best actresses we have in this country, Suranne Jones, Katherine Kelly, they’ve all used Coronation Street as a springboard into other things but it doesn’t work that way for men and I don’t know why that is,” he tells The Mirror.

Tony was the second husband of Underworld boss Carla Connor (Alison King). Introduced as a ruthless businessman, things quickly turned evil and he raped Carla before tying her up in the factory and setting it on fire during a major siege week in 2010. Carla made it out alive, but Tony did not. Gray admits he had no idea where the character was going when he first signed up to appear, but didn’t expect things to pan out as they did.

“It’s only supposed to be about seven houses,” he laughs when discussing the increasingly dramatic nature of the programme. Prior to joining Coronation Street, Gray had appeared in Casualty and River City, but joining the Manchester-based soap was a poignant moment for Gray because his father was such a fan.

“My father was a huge fan of Coronation Street, everyone says they are the biggest fan, but he was. Unfortunately, he died in 2000 and I joined in I think 2007 so he didn’t get to see it and he would’ve loved the part,” he adds.

But the star is happy with his latest role as touring fits in with his lifestyle and ultimately has happy memories of his time on set. It’s a similar case for Bill Ward, who played Charlie Stubbs and, after years of high-profile storylines, one of which saw Charlie abuse Shelley Unwin (Sally Lindsay), his character was murdered by girlfriend Tracy Barlow (Kate Ford) almost 20 years ago.

“I loved it, and people do still talk to me about it,” he smiles, adding “It was a really, really great piece of writing. The writers, I was very, very lucky. The writers really, really wrote for that character, for Charlie Stubbs, and I always used to look forward to getting the next week’s script to see what he would be up to because it was always it was very thoughtful, but it was also very innovative. A lot of the kind of the absolute delight, and I loved my time on it.”

Following his stint in Coronation Street, Bill, 59, went on to play James Barton in Emmerdale, but has also enjoyed a stellar career in theatre, starring in productions of Legally Blonde and Everybody’s Talking About Jamie amongst a host of others.

Things are never safe in soap land and a decade on from Charlie’s dramatic exit, former Casualty star Tristan Gemmill, 59, arrived to play Tracy’s ex-husband Robert Preston. Like Charlie, Robert did not exit in a black cab and his departure from the street was also explosive – being shot through the door of the Rovers Return Inn on Christmas Day.

At the time, Tristan’s children were young and he recalls having to calm them down when they saw the hard-hitting scenes. “Being shot through the door of the Rovers was harsh. It a hell of an exit. We all watched it on Christmas Day with my kids. I thought ‘Oh, look, we’ve had Christmas lunch. Let’s sit down and watch Daddy’s episode of Coronation Street because it’s where he leaves the show.’ It was a big mistake! They got so upset and I spent hours calming them down!”

For Ben Nealon, who played Alex Harkinson on EastEnders but is better known for starring as Capt Jeremy Forsythe on Soldier Solider, the theatre is definitely home, but he is always pleasantly surprised when members of the public recognise him for his signature role.

“With Solider Solider, it’s strange. In some ways, was really lucky, and all of us who were in it were really lucky to be last bastion of a show that was on television when there were still only five channels

“We had 17 million viewers, which is bigger than Game of Thrones now. I’m still amazed that that people come up and say ‘Hey, Jeremy!’ because it’s such a long time ago.” When asked if there is one genre he prefers, Ben, 59, admits he feels “really lucky” to have had a career spanning over three decades to begin with.

“I love doing theatre because of the rehearsal process, the immediacy of it. Of doing, it changes every night based on where you are, what the audience are like.

“I think in television these days, very rarely do you get a chance to rehearse much at all. You might do a couple of rehearsals for the camera and then off you go, so to have that in-depth analysis that you get in a in a rehearsal room for two or three weeks is is a real joy, and, and I think why most of do this job.”

After decades of starring on stage and screen, the four actors are keen to discuss taking on roles of various jurors in a new production of Reginald Rose’s legal drama. “It’s things like social justice, immigration, racism, one man standing against a mob, these are all ideas that he comes back to again and again and again.

“And so I’ve sort of gone backwards into his other work, if you see what I mean, and tried to find reasons, and I’ve researched the period,” Bill says.

Having already hit a few venues in the UK on its lengthy tour, Tristan is thrilled with the way audiences have responded. He explains, “We’re finding that the audiences are, are really engaged because the, Reginald Rose, the writer, has, has structured it in such a clever way where, where by, at the, at the beginning, you just see 12 blokes walk into a room.

“You know that it’s a jury deliberating on a murder case, but you don’t know any more than that. And then as, as time goes on, you almost fill in the gaps backwards, so that eventually you know what everybody in the room knows, because they’ve sat in the court for three days and listened to the proceedings. So, the way he drip-feeds the information is, is really clever.”

Twelve Angry Men is currently on tour across the UK until May 2027. For tickets and more information, go to https://www.kenwright.com/productions/twelve-angry-men-2026-27-uk-tour/

A WOMAN from the UK was stopped at the border abroad after she was told she had overstayed in Europe – despite her not.

Paula Pugh was going on holiday to Italy but was taken back to the UK after systems showed she had overstayed her limit of 90 days in a 180-day period in the Schengen Area.

EES has been causing chaos for lots of Brits since it was first introduced earlier this year including airport delays and missed flights,

But now, it is also causing problems for passengers by incorrectly claiming they are staying too long in Europe.

Talking to The Telegraph, Paula Pugh, 60, explained how she was escorted out of Italy and taken back to the UK because of the error.

Travelling with her husband and cousin for a five-day trip to southern Italy, Paula was flagged at border control shortly after landing.

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She was accused of overstaying her 90 limit in the Schengen Area despite taking just three short visits to Spain and one to France – which totted up to 22 days.

Talking to the publication Paula explained she “wasn’t allowed to go anywhere without a police presence.”

Paula was put on a flight home on the same day from another airport with Ryanair along with her family.

Her passport was given to the captain for the duration of their flight.

She added: “My husband then asked the cabin crew where I would get my passport, and we had to walk to the front of the plane.

“Somebody came onto the plane, took me off the plane, had a look, gave me my passport, and said ‘There you go.’ As though it was all over and all forgotten.

“I’m still very upset when I think about it.”

The cancelled trip and return flights home cost the family around £2,000.

Now, Paula is trying to get her record corrected.

Previously, Brits were manually stamped in and out of a country at border control. EES has replaced that with the taking of biometrics and fingerprints.

However, in some cases where EES has been turned off at airports due to faults, or delays, the exit for Brits has not been recorded and the days spent in the Schengen Area continues without them knowing.

A UK Government spokesman told The Telegraph: “While EES is an EU scheme, we recognise this is a significant change for British travellers, and advise that they read the latest Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) Travel Advice about the scheme before travelling.“

In August, the UK Foreign Office altered its advice to Brits asking them to carry evidence of when they last left the EU, to avoid being wrongly refused entry.

Brits travelling from the UK to Europe can spend 90 days out of every 180 in the EU – staying over this limit will mean both refusal of entry and a fine.

In some cases a fine can be as much as £8,550.

Advice from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) reads: “If you believe you have been incorrectly entered into EES or your record of time spent in the Schengen area is incorrect, approach border officials when you next cross the Schengen border and request a correction.

“If you are exempt, carry documentation confirming your status. If you believe your time spent in the Schengen area has been recorded incorrectly, raise this with border officials and be prepared to provide supporting evidence if requested.”

If you want to check the days left on your record before travelling, the The European Commission has an EES online tool.

Sir Tom Jones proved he’s “still got it” on The Voice UK tonight with an impromptu rendition of It’s Not Unusual.

The Voice UK fans slam ITV’s “huge mistake” in getting rid of Sir Tom Jones as he shares heartwarming story about his career.

ITV’s hit singing contest The Voice UK returned tonight, Saturday, September 19, as the judges continued to blindly listen to singers hoping one of stars would give them a chance.

As always was veteran The Voice UK icon Sir Tom Jones who recalled when he first realised the moment he “made it” in his music career, after he was asked by Will.i.am.

“It’s Not Unusual I did in 1964 so that was 61 years ago”, Tom said.

“My band and myself were driving back to London and It’s Not Unusual came out on the Friday but I didn’t know until I picked up the Sunday paper in a transport cafe, and there it was, It’s Not Unusual, number 10.

“There were truck drivers there right and I was like ‘You see this!’ And they were like ‘yeah, yeah, yeah yeah!’

“And just seeing my name at number 10 I thought ‘This is it. It was a tremendous feeling.’

This story then prompted the audience to ask for him to sing It’s Not Unusual which Sir Tom happily obliged with many fans impressed by his performance.

However, it also angered viewers as they were reminded that the 86-year-old will not be returning for The Voice UK next year as he will be replaced by former Girls Aloud star Cheryl.

“To the powers that be at The Voice UK this is the legend you dropped!”, someone angrily wrote.

A second agreed: “ITV making a very big mistake getting rid of Sir Tom Jones, idiots.”

Another agreed: “It was such a huge mistake axing Tom Jones”, with another writing: “Still can’t believe they fired THE Tom Jones. He’s amazing.”

While a fellow viewer added: “Don’t care what anyone says Sir Tom Jones has still got it!” Silliest move to let this frigging legend go..shame on you producers who make stupid decisions on The Voice UK.”

Sir Tom has also shared that it wasn’t his decision to go, explaining on social media: “The reason given is because of a financial difficulty with insurance.

They now say in the press they wanted to ‘refresh’ the show, and with a new coaching line-up there wouldn’t be a chair for me.”

He has instead been offered a reduced role in the series, something that Sir Tom isn’t “thrilled” about.

The Voice UK continues every Saturday on ITV and ITVX

Big Brother viewers have rallied behind the reality star after she was labelled ‘disrespectful’

Big Brother fans have rushed to defend a controversial contestant amid online backlash.

American housemate Johanne, 44, was labelled ‘disrespectful’ after she walked into the storage room while Omar was praying towards the end of Wednesday night’s episode of the ITV series. She began searching for a drink, apparently unaware of what he was doing.

Once Johanne realised, she apologised and left the room. She later apologised to Omar again, explaining that she had no idea he was praying. While some viewers criticised the interruption, others argued it was a genuine mistake and questioned whether Omar had been given enough privacy in the shared house.

“Omar should have let them know he was going in to pray you could tell she genuinely didn’t know #bbuk,” one viewer wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Another suggested: “I do think Omar should probably have a more private place to pray though how are all housemates going to know #bbuk.”

The encounter nevertheless left some fans cringing. As OK! reports, one posted: “I’ve never gotten worse second hand embarrassment in my life #bbuk.” A second wrote: “Stop that was so awkward poor Omar #BBUK.”

Others took a harsher view of Johanne’s behaviour. One wrote: “Wow Joanne is so disrespectful my lord. #bbuk.” Another added: “Joanne interrupting Omar praying? ! Holy s*** that’s incredibly disrespectful #BBUK.”

The debate came just four days after the new contestants moved into the house, with tensions already emerging. Tonight’s episode also saw Charlotte, who is an amputee, and Rochelle at the centre of the drama after Rochelle revealed she had long had a phobia of people with limb differences.

Meanwhile, Millie, Pauline and Rochelle were confirmed as the housemates facing the series’ first eviction.

The trio had been offered a lifeline if they could identify Big Brother’s moles, Tays and Philip. All three failed to expose the undercover housemates, leaving them facing the public vote.

Voting is now open for Friday’s (September 18) eviction, with viewers asked to choose the housemate they want to leave.

The evicted contestant will then join presenters AJ Odudu and Will Best for a live interview.

Big Brother is available to stream on ITVX

A woman was left gobsmacked when she was taken for a ‘full body search’ at the airport after she set off the security scanners twice with her hand luggage. She was dumbfounded by the reason

Airport security is stressful enough without triggering a major alert. Between removing your belt and wrestling electronics out of your bag, it’s easy to feel flustered.

But one woman is warning travellers to avoid a simple pre-flight habit that got her pulled aside by security not once, but twice. George, a lawyer who posts on TikTok as @awomancalledgeorge, was travelling with just a carry-on when she became the subject of a “double security alert.”

After her bag was pulled from the scanner, she was surrounded by security staff. She explained: “The scanner seemed to have picked up traces of something that could be dangerous.” The subsequent swabs of her hands and bag also came back positive.

“It’s a double problem,” she said. “When you know you haven’t got anything, you still feel guilty. I’m a lawyer, and I was standing there thinking I know I haven’t done anything wrong, but you still feel guilty.”

The alert led to a full-body search, and security staff had to unpack and swab every single item in her bag.

George shared that she’d “never seen anything like it” when her “hand luggage bag got pulled,” and people appeared and were talking “really seriously” to her.

She recalled having to go off and have a “full body search” and they “had to unpack every single thing” in her bag. Staff “swabbed most of it”, before letting her go.

What caused the drama at airport security?

It turns out that what had set it off was “hand cream and body lotion”. George had a shower before heading to the airport and slathered herself in the really nice creams.

But she urged others to take the “life lesson” from her and not do the same thing. She explained: “It turns out the glycerin in hand cream and body lotion can trigger the security systems.

“Who knew? I certainly didn’t know. Having gone through that, I shaln’t be doing that again”.

What are swabs at the airport checking for?

Security swabs primarily test for trace chemical residues associated with explosives.

Staff wipe a small area of a passenger’s hands, bag, shoes, or electronics, and analyse the sample for microscopic particles. Because these chemicals can transfer from harmless everyday sources – like lotions, soaps, or certain fertilizers – a positive swab doesn’t automatically mean you’ve handled anything illegal.

Less commonly, depending on the country and situation, swabs can also be used to detect drug residue or other prohibited substances.