Coronation Street actor Jude Riordan, who portrays Sam Blakeman, comes from a showbiz background
Jude Riordan has become a firm favourite on Coronation Street thanks to his portrayal of Sam Blakeman – and it turns out he comes from a remarkably talented family.
Jude made his first appearance on the ITV soap in 2020, arriving on the cobbles as Nick Tilsley’s (Ben Price) secret son.
Since then, Sam has been at the heart of several major storylines, most notably the devastating death of his mum Natasha Blakeman (Rachel Leskovac), who was killed by criminal Harvey Gaskell (Will Mellor).
More recently, Sam has found himself drawn into another big storyline as he begins to suspect something isn’t quite right about the relationship between athletics coach Megan Walsh (Beth Nixon) and Will Driscoll (Lucas Hodgson-Wale).
Viewers are aware that Megan is grooming Will and is pregnant with his baby. So far, their inappropriate relationship has been kept secret from those close to him, according to the Mirror. However, Sam has started to pick up on signs that something isn’t right between Megan and Will.
After Megan realised Sam was becoming suspicious, she confronted him at Speed Daal while he was doing his homework. During the tense exchange, Megan warned him that it wouldn’t be taken lightly if anyone found out about his accusations, delivering a thinly veiled threat to keep him quiet.
It has since come to light that Jude comes from a strongly showbiz background. His father is Paul Riordan, a television director who has worked on numerous episodes of Coronation Street.
Paul began his career in the industry with a role on Hollyoaks and went on to build an impressive directing résumé, earning credits on major soaps including Emmerdale and Casualty.
In 2021, Paul and Jude even worked together on Corrie. Jude marked the moment by sharing a photo of himself hugging his dad on set, writing: “When you haven’t been feeling great but can’t miss your first Corrie scene directed by yer Dad @paulrio27.”
By 2024, the father-and-son pair were once again pictured together on the famous Cobbles. The snap, taken close to the street’s salon, was shared with the caption: “Another blockbuster with the Father @paulrio27 – a busy couple of days! More bold choices. Back with him next week @coronationstreet.”
Jude and Paul have also collaborated on a short film called Hidden, which went on to win two awards at the British Independent Film Awards. Acting clearly runs in the family, as Jude’s brother has also appeared on screen, with the siblings sharing scenes on Corrie back in 2022.
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