30 soap stars and celebrities you never knew were related

For all the famous family pairings – the Hadids, the Minogues, and the Chuckle Brothers to name a few – there are just as many high-profile duos that seem to fly below the radar.

EastEnders fans were shocked to find out that Dirty Den actor Leslie Grantham is the father of a well known Call the Midwife actor.

Also, readers’ minds were blown when they discovered that Emmerdale legend Trudie Goodwin is the mum of major pop star.

Metro.co.uk takes a look at some of the soap stars you might not have realised are related to famous celebs in real life.

Sophie Thompson, Emma Thompson, and Phyllida Law

Corrie’s Sophie Thompson – who plays eccentric psychic Rosemary Piper – is sister to no other than Dame Emma Thompson, best known for her roles in Love Actually and Sense and Sensibility.

Emma’s husband – and Sophie’s brother-in-law – Greg Wise will be competing in the 2021 installment of Strictly Come Dancing. Perhaps the famous sisters will be cheering him on in the audience?

Sophie and Emma also share a famous mother – actress TV presenter Phyllida Law.

Laila Morse and Gary Oldman

EastEnders star Laila Morse is the older sister of no other than Oscar winner Gary Oldman – known for starring in blockbusters such as Darkest Hour and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

This fact is often overlooked as Laila changed her name when she was younger.

The Big Mo actress was born Maureen Oldman, but she was later given the stage name Laila Morse by a fellow actress.

Sally Dynevor and Pheobe Dynevor

Sally Dynevor, who plays Sally Webster on Coronation Street, is the proud mum of actress Phoebe Dynevor.

Phoebe shot into the limelight late 2020 after landing the role of Daphne in Netflix’s hit series Bridgerton.

Phoebe takes after her mum as a drama actress, having also starred in the BBC series Waterloo Road.

Martin Kemp and Roman Kemp

Martin may have found fame playing bass with Spandau Ballet, but his four-year stint in EastEnders as Steve Owen cemented him as a household name.

His son Roman is famous in is own right as a Capital Breakfast radio host and television personality.

The father-son duo co-host an ITV weekend show called Martin & Roman’s Weekend Best!.

When appearing on First Dates in 2017, Roman revealed how embarrassing it was that girls always fancied his dad more than him.

After showing him a picture of his dad, his date said that he looked a bit like Paul Hollywood.

Roman found the comment hilarious, and said that he would pass it on to his dad.

Rita Simons and Lord Sugar

Roxy Mitchell actress Rita Simmons is the niece of business magnate and The Apprentice judge Lord Alan Sugar.

The pair are not directly blood-related as Lord Sugar is married to Rita’s aunt, Ann Simons.

The EastEnders actress previously discussed her relationship with the blunt businessman and in the Mirror, describing him as ‘much nicer in real life’.

Rita added: ‘He’s still straight-talking, but he’s a lot kinder’ and ‘he loves all his grandkids and loves family time.’

Danny Dyer and Dani Dyer

EastEnders legend Danny Dyer, who played Mick Carter, has a famous daughter called – you guessed it – Dani Dyer.

Dani won the fourth series of Love Island alongside Jack Fincham.

The father-daughter duo are incredibly close, and even co-host a podcast together called Sorted with the Dyers.

Danny isn’t the only Dyer with acting talent, as Dani has appeared in several movies such as Doghouse and Vendetta.

Charley Webb and Jamie Lomas

Former Hollyoaks actor Jamie Lomas, who played Warren Fox, is the brother of Emmerdale star Charley Webb, the talent behind Debbie Dingle.

The siblings have a 12-year age gap between them and remain close with Jamie escorting his little sister down the aisle when she married her Emmerdale co-star, Matthew, in 2018.

Leslie Grantham and Daniel Laurie

Fans’ minds were blown when they found out that Call The Midwife star Daniel Laurie is the son of an EastEnders legend.

Daniel, who portrays Reggie Jackson in the BBC One period drama, is the son of no other than the late Leslie Grantham – who played the iconic Dirty Den.

Den and wife Angie (Anita Dobson) were the original landlords of The Queen Vic, running the iconic boozer from the soap’s inception in 1985.

Joe Tracini and Joe Pasquale

Hollyoaks’ Joe Tracini, who played Dennis Savage, is the son of actor and comedian Joe Pasquale.

Although Tracini doesn’t share his father’s iconic high-pitched voice, he does indeed look very much like him.

Fans were shocked to find out that the pair were related when they appeared on Britain’s Brightest Celebrity Family together in April.

Trudie Goodwin and La Roux

Trudie Goodwin is the mum of award-winning pop star Elly Jackson – better known as La Roux.

La Roux’s debut album, which featured popular tracks In For The Kill and Bulletproof, was both a critical and commercial success back in 2009.

Trudie is known for playing no-nonsense Sergeant June Ackland in The Bill, and Georgia Sharma on Emmerdale.

Katy Cavanagh and Noah Jupe

The Undoing actor Noah Jupe is son of Corrie star Katy Cavanagh, who played Julie Carp.

Acting talent obviously runs in the family, as the 16-year-old actor has landed roles in blockbuster movies A Quiet Place and Wonder, and television series The Night Manager.

Emily Head and Anthony Stewart-Head

Emmerdale actress Emily Head – who plays Rebecca White – is the daughter of actor Anthony Head, who is famous for his roles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Stranger, and Little Britain.

Patsy Palmer and Charley Palmer Rothwell

Soap royalty Patsy Palmer, who played the iconic Bianca Jackson, is not the only one with acting prowess in her family.

Eldest son Charley Palmer Rothwell has appeared in blockbusters Dunkirk, Legend, and Darkest Hour alongside Gary Oldman.

He also played Baz Vegas in British Army thriller Our Girl.

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a webbrowser thatsupports HTML5video

Isabella, Amelia, and William Flanagan

Although soap star siblings aren’t uncommon, having three in the industry is pretty spectacular.

13-year-old Emmerdale actress Amelia Flanagan, who plays April, is the older sister of 10-year-old twins Isabella and William Flanagan, who play cousins Hope and Joseph on Coronation Street.

Isabella was inspired to get into acting because of her big sister, who started working on Emmerdale as Marlon Dingle’s daughter when she was just five-years-old.

William Flanagan set foot on the cobbles two months after his twin sister.

The acting duo are often seen on-screen together and even had to act out one scene where Fiz caught Hope about to push Joseph down the stairs.

The trio’s parents Chris and Rachel often proudly share their support of their little stars on social media.

So proud of these two this week, playing such different characters both with big storylines and both doing such a great job. Thank you for all the lovely comments! #Hope #Corrie #April #Emmerdale pic.twitter.com/BlKrqd6rwr

Some other honourable soap sibling mentions include the following:

Joe Swash (Mickey Miller) and Shana Swash (Demi Miller) from EastEnders
Amy Walsh (Tracy Metcalfe) and Sally Walsh (Lyn Hutchinson) from Emmerdale
Ryan Thomas (Jason Grimshaw) from Coronation Street and Adam Thomas (Adam Barton) from Emmerdale
Nick Pickard (Tony Hutchinson) and John Pickard (Dom Reilly) from Hollyoaks
Greg Wood (Rick Neelan) and Matt Milburn (Tommy Orpington) from Coronation Street