Coronation Street legend Simon Gregson is used to being called Steve McDonald while out in public – but he didn’t expect his own mother to do the same.
Simon has played Steve since 1989, so it is no wonder that fans address him as his character when they bump into him in real life.
He’s been at the centre of some enormous storylines over the years, fathered four children and been married seven times.
‘The thing is with a soap you’re in people’s front rooms every night of the week and they grow up with your character and they kind of grow up with you. So in their psyche, you’re kind of in their lives,’ Simon explained on the Fuelling Around podcast.
‘The reaction to soap people is strange. I once had a woman grab hold of my arm down the aisle in the supermarket and she grabbed hold of me with a face of shock and horror and held onto me for ages and then apologised and walked off.’
‘And I thought, “She thinks I’m a dead relative.”‘
Even in his home, Simon can’t escape Steve, as he confessed that his own mum even called him by his character’s name once!
‘I got called Steve by my mum once, at home. I mean, it was a genuine mistake. She went, “I’ve been talking with Steve all day at work!”
‘I was like, “I know, but it’s the last thing I need at home.”
‘Bless my poor mum. It was genuine.’
Steve has been at the centre of some big stories this year, having fallen for Cassie Plummer (Claire Sweeney). However, things got complicated after she was exposed for poisoning Ken Barlow (William Roache).
