Irish blood, English soul

Actor Paddy Wallace discovered just how Irish he really is. The 39-year-old – whose character, the pathological liar Jude Appleton, recently exited Corrie in dramatic circumstances – discovered that he’s 99% Irish.

“No English at all!” Paddy laughs. “I have 99% Irish DNA, which apparently is a pretty rare result. In fact, it’s so strong that I can be used as a template to measure other people’s DNA against. I was quite surprised by that — I’d expected more of a mix.

“The other 1% is Scandinavian, and it’s funny because we used to always joke about being Vikings.”

His father was born in Belfast, and his grandmother grew up on Inishturk, o the Mayo coast.

“It’s uninhabited now: my Nan’s was the last generation to live there permanently and the house where she grew up is a holiday home. It’s a remote and poignant place.”

Growing up in northwest England, Paddy recalls how his Dad “instilled a sense of Irishness in us.” Despite that – not to mention being called Pádraig – he says that he felt “slightly detached from Ireland. You feel sort of in the middle of these two places or identities.

“I was growing up in England, but I wasn’t really like my friends in feeling very patriotic. At the same time, I missed that sense of camaraderie when Ireland were going well in the football or whatever. I followed Man United instead!”

His acting CV includes Irish productions such as Marú (2011),

In Cold Blood (2006), the sitcom

London Irish (2013), as well as the Pierce Brosnan movie Survivor and appearances on Outlander, Doctors, Hollyoaks and Game of Thrones.

But of course, his big gig is

Coronation Street, which Paddy describes as “wonderful – I’m very lucky. The writing is so good, people really believe that it’s real.

“I was lucky with Jude, because there was so little background that I could build up the character a lot myself.

You form very close relationships with the other actors, so it’s with a bit of a heavy heart that I’m leaving.”

However, Corrie insiders insist that Jude is not gone forever, and will be appearing in episodes over Christmas, so Paddy Wallace’s Irish eyes are still smiling.

Born in Chester of Irish stock, Paddy Wallace, aka Jude Appleton in Corrie, was the perfect subject for Coronation Street’s DNA Secrets, a show giving some of the soap’s stars the Who Do You Think You Are? treatment