Coronation Street and Emmerdale stars are reportedly turning to secret side hustles as an alleged ITV cash crisis bites, raising fresh concerns over pay, job security and the future of Britain’s biggest soap favourites…
MONEY WOES
Soap stars forced to turn to secret side hustles as Corrie and Emmerdale favourites struggle amid ITV cash crisis
AT one time soap stars were amongst some of the highest paid actors in the country but in recent years the salaries have become less and less, with budget cuts and cast culls rife.
It’s been particularly tough for ITV shows Emmerdale and Coronation Street, which has led to some cast members starting a secret side hustle.
Soap stars including Emmerdale’s Joe-Warren Plant have started side hustlesCredit: ITV
He was previously pulling pints but has quit that now to DJCredit: Splash
We can reveal that Emmerdale hunk Joe-Warren Plant, show legend Jeff Hordley and Corrie’s Cait Fitton have all turned to music to make some extra cash, which has left locals gobsmacked.
Our insider said: “It’s no secret that soaps are struggling and the savvy stars are always on the look out to make more money.
“Doing brand deals is very complicated because of ITV rules but music is much easier. A lot of them are very gifted and they love it, so it makes sense for them to do gigs on the side.
“They aren’t playing arenas or anything like that, it’s always very small pubs and bars and the people there often have no idea that they are also on the country’s biggest soaps.”
Emmerdale’s Jeff Hordley is also DJ’ing in his spare timeCredit: Tiktok/@mattslifeandtravels
He plays show legend Cain DingleCredit: ITV
Joe-Warren, 24, might be busy on screen playing Jacob Gallagher on the ITV soap but he took on a second job pulling pints at a pub in his hometown of Blackpool.
He recently quit that and is now concentrating on DJing on the side and has landed a number of gigs.
Joe follows in the footsteps of Jeff, who has been a DJ for years in and around Manchester.
The 56-year-old, who plays Cain Dingle, shocked pubgoers last year when he hit the DJ deck at The Garden Bar in Chorlton, Manchester.
The insider added: “Joe has seen how well Jeff does from his DJing and he’s really passionate about it too. He often asks Jeff for advice and is keen to make a real go of it.
“They are always thinking about the next thing just in case their contracts don’t get renewed.”
Jeff previously opened up about this life on the decs, saying: “I DJ a lot, that’s been my out of work acting job for years. I DJed for many years at a club in Manchester called the Rock ‘N’ Roll bar.
“It [was] my saviour really, in terms of being a young actor, because I didn’t have to sign on.
“I could earn decent money by DJing at this nightclub on a Friday night and I was lucky enough to… over that period, we had guests every week. It was quite a well-known club in Manchester.”
Corrie star Cait, who plays Lauren Bolton, has always been an incredible singer – she reached the Britain’s Got Talent final in 2020, as part of the sign-language choir Sign Along With Us.
She always wanted to land a spot on Corrie, which she did in 2022, but she’s carried on singing.
Cait is often seen singing in backstreet pubs around Manchester.
Corrie’s Cait Fitton is singing in pubsCredit: TIKTOK
Cait plays Lauren Bolton on CorrieCredit: ITV
Last year gobsmacked fans filmed her showing off her vocal talents inside Hogarth’s, Rochdale.
Our insider said: “Cait loves singing and adores being in Corrie – it was her life long dream – but she wants to keep up her music.
“It’s also a great little earner for her on the side.”
Corrie reportedly pays £400 to £2,000 per episode to each actor. Lead actors have annual contracts with higher bills, including William Roache (Ken Barlow) and Jack P Shepherd (David Platt) among the highest earners on around £250,000 a year.
Michael Le Vell (Kevin Webster) and Simon Gregson (Steve McDonald) are closer to £150,000.
But smaller roles are closer to the £400 per episode mark.
It’s a similar situation on Emmerdale, where their big hitters are Claire King (Kim Tate) on an estimated £230,000, then Chris Chittell (Eric Pollard), and Emma Atkins (Charity Dingle) £200,000 annual salary range.
When it comes to extras on the northern soaps, however, they can expect as little as £200.
Soap stars have complained about being “worked like dogs” due to long daysCredit: PA
ITV have quietly axed The British Soap AwardsCredit: ITV
The talent have been supplementing their income with pantomimes, appearance fees and even commercial deals.
Some cast members have even started holding set tours on their days off to try and make more cash.
And with news of contracts being shortened and scenes in the Rovers Return being cut down, more actors are likely to sign up.
Cast members have even complained they are being “worked like dogs”, due to long days and the tightening purse at ITV.
A show insider said: “The cast loved the days when lots of scenes were filmed in the Rovers because it didn’t matter if you had 10 scenes in an episode or just sat in the pub – you’d get paid the same.
“Playing a barmaid or the landlord was a dream gig and would guarantee you got paid a fortune because it didn’t matter if you just served someone in the background – you got paid for the episode.
“The bar staff obviously had to be in all Rovers scenes so it was a great earner for them.
And this week we told how cash strapped ITV have quietly axed The British Soap Awards following its brutal budget cuts.
Most of the stars would probably be too busy gigging to attend anyway.
CRE: https://www.thesun.co.uk/tv/39537180/soap-stars-side-hustles-corrie-emmerdale-cash-crisis/
