The actor takes on an intriguing new role in the ITV soap.
Coronation Street has cast former Hollyoaks star Jacob Roberts as the secret son of Bernie Winter (Jane Hazlegrove), who was unveiled in tonight’s episode (13th May 2024).
Bernie recently told partner Dev Alahan (Jimmi Harkishin) that she gave up another child, a little boy she named Zodiac, who was adopted and renamed Christopher Green.
As she continued searching for her secret son, Bernie stumbled across another house and, when the man who answered the door assumed she was from a cleaning agency, she played along.
Christopher, who prefers to be called Kit, then caught Bernie rifling through his personal things, and when she revealed she thought she was his mother, Kit denied that this was a possibility.
But as a downhearted Bernie accepted his words and left, confiding in Dev that she had packed her baby off with a jade elephant toy when she gave him up, viewers saw Kit pick up the very same item in his home, confirming that he knew he was adopted and that Bernie must be his biological mum.
But there’s more to Kit’s story, as he is also a detective who has been instructed to help investigate the case of missing teen Lauren Bolton (Cait Fitton) by DS Swain (Vicky Myers).
In Wednesday’s (15th May 2024) episode of Coronation Street, Kit’s mind is not on the job as he bumps into Bernie, who has been drinking, and arrests her for being drunk and disorderly! Without owning up to his true identity, Kit uses his profession to find out more about Bernie and her colourful past.
But how will Kit feel when he learns that Bernie has two older children, Gemma Winter-Brown (Dolly-Rose Campbell) and Paul Foreman (Peter Ash), who she didn’t give up for adoption like him?
Roberts previously played the gentle but cheeky Damon Kinsella in Hollyoaks, from 2017 to 2023. The character endured the death of best friend Brody Hudson (Adam Woodward), discovered his father was a sexual predator, and left Hollyoaks village last year after taking part in a botched robbery and escaping arrest.
Speaking for the first time of his casting in the ITV soap, actor Roberts said: “It’s absolutely amazing to be joining the cast of Coronation Street.
“When I walked on set for the first time, it felt a bit overwhelming because the attention to detail is just incredible, it actually makes you feel that you are on a real street.
“My mum and dad are really chuffed too, which is lovely. My mum has always watched Coronation Street, I’ve always kept up to date with it too, so it just feels surreal to be here. Meeting all of the cast and crew was great, I really do feel at home here,” he confirmed.
“I’m looking forward to everyone meeting Kit but I do think he is going to be a very misunderstood character at first. He’s been really hurt throughout his life and although he has a good heart, he has some deep rooted resentment with his biological mum, Bernie, which will be really interesting to play out.”
In an extended chat shared by ITV, Roberts shared that he and his family are big Corrie fans, and revealed the lovely moment he told his mum the news.
“I got a bottle of champagne and went straight to my mum’s and I didn’t say anything. She asked me what my champagne was for so I said ‘well, you’ll be watching me on Corrie in a couple of months’ so that was really nice. My mum absolutely loves Coronation Street, so she was really chuffed.
“I’ve always been a fan of Corrie. It was a show that was always on in my house, especially growing up in Salford. When I was in Hollyoaks, I always kept an eye on it, and all the other soaps, but Corrie was the main one in terms of entertainment so I’ve always had a soft spot for Corrie.”
Asked about Kit’s decision over Bernie, the actor added: “He doesn’t actually recognise Bernie at first. He doesn’t want to let her know that he knows [who she is].
“I think she’s come into his life at a time where he didn’t actually need her. He’s got a great job and life now so he doesn’t want to disrupt that.”
Will the truth dawn on Bernie? Can she bond with Kit? And is Kit the one to watch in solving what’s happened to missing Lauren?
Coronation Street continues Kit and Bernie’s story on Wednesday 15th May.
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