Jude Riordan has been forced to tell fans of the ITV soap it’s ‘not a recast’ as they were surprised by his changing appearance

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Coronation Street stars Jude Riordan and Jane Hazlegrove(Image: Jude Riordan Instagram)

Coronation Street star Jude Riordan has been forced to tell fans it’s ‘not a recast’ as they were surprised by his changing appearance following time away from the cobbles.

Those who follow the drama on the cobbles know that the young actor is best known for playing Sam Blakeman in the ITV soap, who arrived in Weatherfield in 2020 as the son of Nick Tilsley and the late Natasha Blakeman.

And Jude, who is also known for playing Tyler Croft in the Sky Comedy, Brassic, made quite the impact during his debut in Corrie, as he went on to pick up the best newcomer gong at the National Television Awards in 2021.

But now, the soap star has revealed that his time on the cobbles, at least for 2025, has come to an end as he finished filming ahead of the show’s Christmas break. Taking to Instagram, he shared a string of photos in which he could be seen at the Trafford-based set, including with his co-star Jane Hazlegrove, who plays Bernie Winter.

Captioning the post, he wrote: “And that’s a Christmas wrap on 2025 Corrie. It’s always a good week when you have scenes with Bernie! Loads of exciting stuff coming in 2026. STAY TUNED #corrie #samblakeman #corriekids #BTS #onthecobbles #coronationstreet #christmas.”

But as the post was flooded with comments, Jude returned to his caption and added: “EDIT – I’m still Sam it’s not a recast [crying laughing emoji],” as many were surprised by his more grown-up appearance.

Jude has been growing up in front of viewers’ eyes(Image: Jude Riordan Instagram)

@paulalunt58 said: “Wow how grown up.” @kellyannem83 commented: “Has someone at corrie been watering Jude between takes? When did that growth spurt happen? Merry Christmas big chap.” @mandy.knaggs.7 wrote: “Wow looking so grown up and tall! Have a great Christmas.” @nikkishellwade added: “You look so grown up now.”

It comes after Jude was recently seen looking back at his time on Brassic, the Sky Comedy series which came to an end following the release of the recent seventh series.

Jude played Tyler Croft in the adored series, the son of former Corrie star Michelle Keegan’s lead character, Erin. Taking to Instagram, he shared a number of pictures, which showed him alongside Michelle and their co-star Joseph ‘Joe’ Gilgun, who also co-wrote the series.

He wrote on Instagram: “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!”