
Inside Emmerdale star Amelia Flanagan's life with fellow soap actor siblings
Amelia Flanagan is one of Emmerdale's most-popular young performers, celebrated for her role as April Windsor.
She instantly became a hit among viewers, and recently won the award for Best Young Performer at this year's British Soap Awards.
The character is still trying to readapt to her life in the village after spending six weeks living rough in Leeds.
April disappeared from her home last Christmas. She endured a life-changing ordeal while homeless, and also gave birth to a stillborn baby girl.
The character is hugely loved by fans, but did you know Amelia is the sister of two Corrie stars?
Amelia, who is now 17, is the older sibling of Isabella and William Flanagan, who play Hope Dobbs and Joseph Brown in Coronation Street.
Isabella took over the role from twins Faith and Nicole Holt in August 2017, whilst her twin brother Will first appeared as Joseph, the then-estranged son of Chesney Winter-Brown (Sam Aston) in the following October.
Amelia was overjoyed this week as she picked up the British Soap Award for Best Young Performer. Prior to being given the gong, she spoke to Metro about her life in soapland, including whether there is any sense of rivalry between her, William and Isabella.
'I don't think so. We're so pleased for each other if either of us won, if it was lucky enough to go that way. I think mainly it's so exciting that we're all here as a family, because it's the first awards we've been together as a full family. It's very exciting.'
The trio live with their dad Chris, a TK Maxx store manager, and mum Rachel in Yorkshire.
Amelia joined the soap in 2014 and is the only actress to play April.
The character is the daughter of Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) and stepdaughter to Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry).
Earlier this year, as part of April's storyline, she featured in an episode that revealed what she went through while on the streets.
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'It was an incredibly challenging, heavy topic to cover, but also such an important and current topic that we needed to address', Amelia said. More Trending
'We had an amazing team for the entire thing, I'm very proud of how we did it. It was an amazing shoot. It was so different, because it was a single episode and we shot it on different cameras in different locations.
'We just had so much fun doing it and it was honestly one of the best moments of my career and I loved every minute of it. Seeing how much of a positive response it's had means a lot and it's incredible to hear.'
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This article was originally published on March 12, 2024.
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The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Coronation Street fans slam Eileen Grimshaw's ‘ridiculous' exit as she waves goodbye to the cobbles after 25 years
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Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Coronation Street's Jack P Shepherd reveals 'shock' over soap awards snub as he reflects on his reaction during ceremony
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The 37-year-old, who has played David Platt since he was 12, had high hopes of adding a third gong to his shelf during Saturday night's star-studded event but lost out to Patsy Palmer and her Eastender's character Bianca Jackson Colson said: 'You worked so hard to receive this Best Comedy nomination...' to which Jack replied: 'I have. 'I've been trying for years to get a nod for comedy cos I've never been nominated for it before.' Colson then probed: 'And how are you feeling about the result? Your frenemy...' Jack admitted: 'It was a shock. It was a shock. If you watched it, you will notice that my reaction is genuine. 'I'm completely blown away. I didn't win. I couldn't hide it.' Bursting into fits of laughter, Ben, 53, who plays Jack's onscreen brother Nick Tilsey joked: 'I was sat behind you and I'd gone. 'I couldn't think of anything more funny then not winning the comedy and then Patsy winning it who'd been in Big Brother with you - and then name checking you saying "I thought Jack would win"' To which Jack exclaimed: 'And then I said "So did I!"' Ben then asked: 'Were you fuming? Was that your fuming face?' 'Yeah' said Jack. 'I was just blown away. I was as much blown away as winning Big Brother as I was losing that award.' Speaking on his podcast On The Sofa with co-stars Ben Price and Colson Smith (pictured) Jack admitted while he congratulated the winner, he was 'shocked' and felt the award should have been his, as he declared the was 'fuming' Meanwhile Patsy left both the crowd and viewers at home in stitches during the British Soap Awards, as she went off in a tangent about vaginas during her award acceptance speech It was the BBC 's EastEnders that cleaned up on the night with eight awards while Hollyoaks received three, Emmerdale two and Coronation Street only one. Meanwhile Patsy left both the crowd and viewers at home in stitches during the British Soap Awards, as she went off in a tangent about vaginas during her award acceptance speech. The actress, 53, won the prize for Best Comedic Performance at the annual ceremony, held on Saturday night at London 's Hackney Empire. As she took to the stage to accept the gong, Patsy got rather sidetracked, as she deliver an ode to vaginas, that had the audience breaking down into laughter. She made the X-rated remarks in reference to EastEnders' live 40th anniversary special, which saw Bianca having to help sister Sonia (Natalie Cassidy) give birth after they became trapped in the Queen Vic with cousin Lauren (Jacqueline Jossa) following the explosion. The scene had viewers cracking up as Bianca and Lauren argued over who had to help, with both reluctant to get up close and personal with the birth. It culminated with Bianca taking a huge glug from a bottle of brandy for some liquid courage, before declaring the now-iconic line: 'It's only a noony Lauren!' Referencing the hilarious moment, Patsy began her speech: 'Listen I haven't prepared a speech, because I really thought Jack was gonna win. 'To be able to funny in all what of we've seen tonight is nothing short of miracle really. I'd like to thank Shona McGarty for leaving, because if she hadn't have left I wouldn't have come back. 'I wasn't expecting that and I'm so glad I did because then I stayed for the 40th and that was really where we celebrated the women's vagina!' However, Patsy didn't stop there, valiantly continuing on to add: 'I think vaginas have always been funny.' She then changed tone to express her thanks to show and even choked back her tears, as she gushed: 'All jokes aside, coming back to EastEnders after quite some time has been the most amazing experience for me and I'm so grateful. Beyond grateful. 'And I'm not going to cry, so I'm going to go, because it is a comedy award. But you really have no idea what a gift it's been for me to come back.' Viewer Voted Categories: Best British Soap: Coronation Street EastEnders - WINNER Emmerdale Hollyoaks Best Leading Performer: Kellie Bright (Linda Carter, EastEnders) Eden Taylor-Draper (Belle Dingle, Emmerdale) Beth Cordingly (Ruby Miligan, Emmerdale) Villain of the Year: Calum Lill (Joel Deering, Coronation Street) Navin Chowdhry (Nish Panesar, EastEnders) - WINNER Ned Porteous (Joe Tate, Emmerdale) Tyler Conti (Abe Fielding, Hollyoaks) Best Comedy Performance: Jack P Shepherd (David Platt, Coronation Street) Patsy Palmer (Bianca Jackson, EastEnders) - WINNER Nicola Wheeler (Nicola King, Emmerdale) Nicole Barber-Lane (Myra McQueen, Hollyoaks) Panel Voted Categories: Best Family: The Platts (Coronation Street) The Slaters (EastEnders) The Dingles (Emmerdale) The Osbornes (Hollyoaks) - WINNER Best Dramatic Performance: Peter Ash (Paul Foreman, Coronation Street) Steve McFadden (Phil Mitchell, EastEnders) - WINNER Eden Taylor-Draper (Belle Dingle, Emmerdale) Isabelle Smith (Frankie Osborne, Hollyoaks) Best Single Episode: Mason's death (Coronation Street) Phil's psychosis: the Mitchells in 1985 (EastEnders) - WINNER April's life on the streets (Emmerdale) Hollyoaks time jump (Hollyoaks) Best On-Screen Partnership: Alison King and Vicky Myers (Carla Connor and Lisa Swain, Coronation Street) Rudolph Walker and Angela Wynter (Patrick and Yolande Trueman, EastEnders) - WINNER William Ash and Beth Cordingly (Caleb and Ruby Miligan, Emmerdale) Nathaniel Dass and Oscar Curtis (Dillon Ray and Lucas Hay, Hollyoaks) Best Newcomer: Jacob Roberts (Kit Green, Coronation Street) Laura Doddington (Nicola Mitchell, EastEnders) Shebz Miah (Kammy Hadiq, Emmerdale) Isabelle Smith (Frankie Osborne, Hollyoaks) - WINNER Best Storyline: Paul's battle with MND (Coronation Street) Phil Mitchell: Hypermasculinity in crisis (EastEnders) Belle and Tom - Domestic Abuse (Emmerdale) Sibling sexual abuse (Hollyoaks) - WINNER Best Young Performer: Will Flanagan (Joseph Winter-Brown, Coronation Street) Sonny Kendall (Tommy Moon, EastEnders) Amelia Flanagan (April Windsor, Emmerdale) - WINNER Noah Holdsworth (Oscar Osborne, Hollyoaks) Scene of the Year: Amy's deathly plunge reveals a grisly secret (Emmerdale)


Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Coronation Street fans slam 'dreadful' exit for Eileen Grimshaw after 25 years
It was an emotional night in Coronation Street tonight, as Eileen Grimshaw waved goodbye to Weatherfield after 25 years - but some fans wanted a better exit for the star It was the end of an era on Coronation Street tonight, as Eileen Grimshaw (Sue Cleaver) waved goodbye to the street she'd lived on for 25 years. Actress Sue Cleaver joined the ITV soap in 2000, when her character moved into number 11 with sons Jason and Todd Grimshaw. However, some fans weren't impressed with her exit scenes. The character quickly became a fan favourite, winning numerous awards for her portrayal of the role, and her feud with Gail Platt (Helen Worth) will go down in history. However, after 25 years, it was time for Eileen to wave goodbye to Weatherfield, and hello to Thailand as she made a big move. It comes after a tough time for the character, who was being suspected in her sister Julie's tragic death. In tonight's episode, Eileen was cleared by the police of any wrongdoing in Julie's death. She then decided to make the move to Thailand, and invest in her son Jason's bar. It wasn't the only big change for the character, as she ended her relationship with George after admitting she only loved him as a friend. In her final scenes, Eileen who worked at the StreetCars taxi service alongside Steve McDonald (Simon Gregson), was seen hopping into the back of his cab with Jason. Showing their appreciation, Tim Metcalfe (Joe Duttine) and the other cabbies lined up the taxis on the street, honking their horns and saluting her as she waved out the window. Despite the 'touching' scenes, some fans weren't happy about the exit Eileen was given after 25 years, as they expected more. One penned: "This will go down in history as one of the most drawn out exits ever," as another wrote: "This is a dreadful last episode for a long term character." "Well, that send off, wasn't very exciting," tweeted a third, while another agreed: "Goodness. Eileen's exit storyline is very, very, VERY bland." However, others took to the social media platform to praise the exit. "Wow todays episode of Corrie had me happy crying what an ending for an iconic character," wrote one fan, as another said: "Loved how all the taxis lined the street to wave eileen off. Nice touch." Previously speaking about her exit scenes, Sue gushed that the ITV soap had given her "the perfect ending." Speaking on Kelvin and Liz Fletcher's Off Script podcast, the star said: "When I read it and saw it, I was really emotional. It's the perfect ending. It is everything that I wanted."