Stars you never knew were related from Brooke Vincent and Ellie Leach to the Corrie twins with an Emmerdale sister
THEY say talent runs in the family, which might explain why so many stars have famous relatives. This week EastEnders actor Jamie Borthwick was stunned to discover his co-star, Charlie Winter, was actually his second cousin. Jamie – who plays Jay Brown in the soap – made the shock discovery after clocking that his great […]
THEY say talent runs in the family, which might explain why so many stars have famous relatives.
This week EastEnders actor Jamie Borthwick was stunned to discover his co-star, Charlie Winter, was actually his second cousin.
Jamie – who plays Jay Brown in the soap – made the shock discovery after clocking that his great uncle shared the same name as Charlie, who played Hunter.
But they’re not the only celebrities who share blood ties.
From Corrie stars Ellie Leach and Brooke Vincent to Emmerdale’s Amy Walsh and sister Kimberley, here are the stars you never knew were related.
Corrie’s Ellie Leach and Brooke Vincent
Coronation Street star Brooke, 28, has played Sophie Webster, daughter of Kevin and Sally, since 2004.
Ellie, who is eight years younger, joined the soap in 2009, playing Faye Windass – making them stepsisters on screen.
But in real life, the girls are cousins – and Ellie recently became godmother to Brooke’s son Mexx.
Emmerdale’s Charley Webb and Jamie Lomas
They may both have major roles in their respective soaps, but Charley Webb and Jamie Lomas share more than just success – as they’re actually brother and sister.
While Charley, 31, plays long-running character Debbie Dingle on Emmerdale, her brother, 44, plays one of Hollyoaks’ most well-known villains – Warren Fox.
The siblings have never appeared together on screen however, preferring to keep their personal link and their careers separate.
Kimberley Walsh and Emmerdale’s Amy Walsh
When actress Amy Walsh, 32, starred as Tracey on Emmerdale, fans immediately noticed how familiar she looked.
And it turns out she’s got a famous sister – Girls Aloud star Kimberley, 38.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun Online previously, Amy said: “It was a bit like Fame in our house.
“There are so many videos of us doing shows when we were kids.”
Incidentally, their other sister Sally starred as Marlon Dingle’s troublemaker girlfriend Lyn Hutchinson from 1997 to 2000 in the soap too.
Amy’s older brother Adam also got in on the act, making his TV debut in Heartbeat in 1993.
Corrie twins Isabella and William Flanagan and sister Amelia
Coronation Street stars Isabella and William play Fizz’s daughter Hope Stape and Chesney’s son Joseph Brown, making them screen cousins.
But the 10-year-olds are twins in real life, and they’re not the only talented actors in the family.
Older sister Amelia, 12, has played April Dingle in Emmerdale since 2014.
EastEnders’ Lacey and Daisy Turner and Lily Harvey
Lacey Turner has been an EastEnders stalwart since 2004, playing Stacey Fowler.
But she also has two sisters who followed in her soap star footsteps.
Lily Harvey, then aged nine, played Shenice Quinn in the soap, from 2011 to 2012.
Daisy Turner, 20, stars as bad girl Jenny Houston in Hollyoaks.
EastEnders’ Laila Morse and Gary Oldman
While actress Laila Morse, 74, is best known for playing Big Mo in EastEnders, she also has a very famous brother – Oscar-winning star Gary Oldman, 61.
The pair are rarely pictured together in public, but are known to be close as Laila previously shared photos of them fooling around together during Christmas in 2018.
Naomi Campbell and Gogglebox’ Sandi
One of them is a world famous supermodel, the other is a Gogglebox favourite – and fans were left stunned previously when Sandi Bogle, 55, revealed she was actually 49-year-old catwalk sensation Naomi Campbell’s cousin.
Speaking about her famous relation in 2015, Sandi told The Mirror: “Naomi watches me on the show and she loves it. We support each other in whatever we do.
“I’ve always had my businesses and she’s always done her thing.”
Lord Sugar and EastEnder Rita Simons
They’re worlds apart on screen, but EastEnders star Rita Simons, 42, is actually the niece of Lord Alan Sugar in real life.
Apprentice boss Lord Sugar’s wife Ann Simons, who he married in 1968, is the sister of Rita’s dad Mark.
Lord Sugar, 72, has previously joked about them being related on Twitter, after a fan wrote: “Hands up if you was this many years old when you found out @OfficialRita was the niece of Lord Alan Sugar #TeamRita #I’mACeleb.”
The British magnate joked: “That is maybe why the public voted her out [of I’m a Celebrity]. It might be my fault.”
GOT’s Alfie Allen and singer Lily
Alfie Allen is best known more recently for playing Theon Greyjoy in the HBO series Games of Thrones.
However, the 33-year-old has been in the limelight for years before as he’s the younger brother of hit singer Lily Allen, 34.
The pair are very close and have previously been pictured arm in arm on the red carpet together.
Love Actually’s Hugh Grant and Thomas Brodie-Sangster
While many famous celebrities enjoy their careers separately from each other, English acting legend Hugh Grant, 59, actually shared the screen with his younger relation Thomas Brodie-Sangster, now 29, in 2003.
The pair both appeared in Love Actually, with Thomas famously playing little Sam in the hit film, while Hugh of course appeared as the prime minister.
They are actually second cousins, once removed, so have remained close outside of filming too.
TV star Peter Capaldi and Lewis
When Lewis Capaldi, 23, released his long-awaited music video for best-selling hit Someone You Loved last year, fans were quick to share their excitement as it featured his distant relative, Doctor Who great Peter Capaldi, 61.
However, even though the pair share family ties – albeit distantly – Lewis previously revealed he only met Peter fairly recently at one of his London shows at Scala. In fact, he’d only met him once before the video was filmed.
He told The Sun: “We were just trying to work out how exactly how we’re related. Like my great gran was his auntie or something.
“It was very confusing f***ing thing but he was very complimentary, it was very nice about the show and he seemed to really enjoy it.”
EastEnder Jessie Wallace and Danielle Mason
Sadly not every celebrity family relationship remains close through the years, and EastEnders star Jessie Wallace, 48, and her half-sister, glamour model Danielle Mason, 37, have had their ups and downs in the past.
However, while the pair were at odds for a decade, they now look closer than ever after putting their differences aside in 2018.
The siblings, who share the same mum Annette, have previously had public spats – with one particularly nasty one in 2014 seeing Danielle accuse Jessie of turning her back on her stepdad Ron when he was in hospital with leukaemia.
However, they are believed to have patched up their rocky relationship in 2016 after their grandfather passed away.
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Dr Who’s Patrick Troughton and Harry Melling
Harry Melling was a true stand-out star of the Harry Potter movies, playing the lead character’s cousin Dudley Dursley.
And the 30-year-old previously revealed he wants to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps.
Patrick Troughton played the second Doctor Who more than 50 years ago, but sadly died before Harry was born.
Harry previously told the Express: “I would love to be the next new Doctor. I am not the person in charge of that but I would love to keep it in the family.”