Coronation Street child star Jude Riordan unrecognisable in new snaps as fans stunned

Coronation Street star Jude Riordan, who plays Sam Blakeman on the ITV soap, has left fans floored after sharing some recent snaps

Coronation Street favourite Jude Riordan has left fans stunned after posting some striking new images on social media.

The young actor joined the Weatherfield cast in 2020, bringing Sam Blakeman to life as Nick Tilsley’s (Ben Price) previously unknown son. Since arriving on the cobbles, he’s quickly won over viewers and become a beloved character.

Sam’s storylines have included some of the soap’s most heart-wrenching moments, particularly the devastating loss of his mother Natasha Blakeman (Rachel Leskovac), who was murdered by villain Harvey Gaskell (Will Mellor).

The gifted performer’s talent was recognised in 2021 when he scooped the best newcomer award at the National Television Awards. Beyond Coronation Street, Jude’s credits include Channel 4’s documentary The Secret Life of 4, 5 and 6 Year Olds in 2017 and a role as Little Phil in Katy.

He’s also featured in Sky One’s Brassic as Tyler Croft, where he worked alongside former Coronation Street actress Michelle Keegan, who played his on-screen mother. Additionally, Jude regularly keeps his 90.5k Instagram followers in the loop about his daily adventures, reports the Mirror.

Recently, the star left his audience speechless after revealing his remarkable transformation. Posting on Instagram, Jude uploaded a collection of images from a professional photoshoot.

His supporters were quick to voice their amazement at his growth, with one fan exclaiming: “Oh my gosh he’s grown up so much!” Another follower wrote: “Grown up so fast.”

A third person remarked: “Oh my goodness, little dude! You look so grown up!” This follows Jude’s recent nostalgic look back at his time on Brassic, the Sky Comedy series that recently concluded with its seventh series. He took to Instagram to share a collection of photos featuring himself, Michelle, and their co-star Joseph ‘Joe’ Gilgun, who also co-wrote the series.

On Instagram, he reminisced: “I like the funny dog, it’s an owl. Kick him! I can remember every day I did on Brassic [crying laughing emoji]. However much fun you can imagine it would be X it by 10!”.

“Grew up with the greats. Look how young Joe looks. From sat at the Liverpool docks running lines with everyone in different accents [crying laughing emoji] to many hours driving to France to the best bacon butties to crew dogs and just hanging out with the funniest people. Brassic days were really GOOD TIMES!”.

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