I’ll win Angie back!

Jude Appleton’s marriage is on the rocks in Corrie. But Paddy Wallace, who plays him, says all is not lost...

Jude Appleton’s prospects of saving his marriage on Coronation Street look bleak, as relationship counselling fails to help and his wife Angie finally tells him she wants to split up. But when Jude finds out his mum Mary is planning a vow- renewal ceremony for them, he thinks that this might be his chance.

‘Mary has no idea Jude’s relationship is in trouble. And when she tells Jude what she’s planning, he thinks it could be a way to mend things,’ says Paddy Wallace, who plays Jude.

‘He keeps the plan from Angie, but when she declares their marriage is over, Jude runs off. He thinks that if he can just buy an extra day, and Angie sees how much he loves her at the altar, then he can save their marriage. Will he? You’ll have to see…’

It’s hardly surprising Jude and Angie are at breaking point. After all, he lied to her for years that he was a high-flying marine biologist. Then, after Angie discovered Jude only worked in the aquarium gift shop, she rushed out and kissed Adam Barlow.

This all came on top of Jude having moved Angie and their baby son, George, to Weatherfield from South Africa, to live with his mum Mary, with whom Angie locked horns.

‘It’s mostly Jude’s fault,’ admits Paddy. ‘As far as Angie’s concerned, their marriage is based on a lie.’

Paddy believes Jude’s behaviour stems from having been given up for adoption at birth by Mary, who became pregnant after a sexual assault. ‘His upbringing has been influential. Even though he’s 33, he’s not as fully formed as you’d expect.’ Although, Paddy adds, ‘Angie shouldn’t have kissed Adam. She’s no angel.’

Whatever happens this week, the actor, 34, hints that there’s more drama on the way. ‘I’d like Angie and

Jude to get over it, if only for the sake of their son,’ he says. ‘But Angie is using Adam as a confidante and Jude’s very suspicious. Adam could be a recurring part of the drama…’

Paddy lives in London with his partner and commutes to Manchester for Corrie. He joined the cast in 2016, after parts in Emmerdale, Doctors, Hollyoaks – and Game Of Thrones, where he played one of the Kingsguard. ‘Everything about Game Of Thrones was epic,’ he says, adding, ‘Soaps are an incredible training ground; it’s so

fast, you do a lot of scenes in a day and have to be on the ball.’

Despite going to university to study drama, Paddy never planned to go into acting so initially put more time into being a semi-pro footballer. ‘But I was told by my drama tutor that if I wasn’t in a play soon, I’d be kicked off the course! So I did a play, got an agent and went on to drama school.’

Paddy insists he’s in Corrie for the long haul. ‘You can’t walk away from a job like this. It’s a fantastic gig.’