How the Coronation Street cast cashed-in with big money brand deals – as soap stars go to war over favouritism

The Sun

10-05-2025

THE Coronation Street cast are locked in yet another backstage crisis as morale on the soap continues to plunge into further depths.
This week, it was revealed that many of the show's cast members were left fuming with the blatant favouritism of some show stars when it comes to accepting paid partnerships on social media - something usually outlawed by soap execs.
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Glamorous Samia Longchambon and Sair Khan were cleared to take lucrative brand deals — while others were blocked, it has been claimed from one soap actress who spoke out to The Sun
Samia, 42, featured in a reel for Marks & Spencer alongside her Dancing on Ice husband Sylvain Longchambon, whilst Sair plugged a posh, £2,500 Italian oven from Bertazzoni.
An insider said Samia and Sair's ad deals have angered colleagues, struggling under the soap's budget cuts, who claim to have had similar work offers blocked.
One actress, who says she has had two deals knocked back this year, told The Sun: 'It's one rule for the polished PR favourites, and another for the rest of us."
This rule has long caused chaos behind the scenes of the soap with many actresses opting to quit the show in order to rake in more than their yearly salary through endorsement deals.
Let's take a look at the Weatherfield ladies who managed to cash-in after walking away from the programme for good.
Brooke Vincent
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When Brooke left her role on Coronation Street in 2019, she wasted no time in securing a slew of big-money deals.
The former soap star earned a pretty penny when she struck a deal with fashion retailer In The Style for her very own maternity range of clothes.
As part of the partnership, Brooke's pregnancy was plastered all over In The Style's marketing endeavours as well as the star doing regular plugs for the range as well as other items sold by the brand.
In The Style was famed for its celebrity partnerships and was known for its six and seven-figure deals with stars such as Stacey Solomon, Jacqueline Jossa, Charlotte Crosby and Dani Dyer.
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To this day, Brooke commands a slew of four ann five-figure payouts for her work with brands such as Home Bargains, CurrentBody LED facemasks and a local aesthetics procedure clinic.
Helen Flanagan
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Rosie Webster actress Helen Flanagan has never been short of offers when it comes to a slew of commercial work online.
The star, who boasts over 1 million followers, can rake in £20,000 per sponsored post.
It means with just five Instagram ads a year, Helen could outearn her Coronation Street wage easily.
The star has plugged everything from fashion lines to underwear sets to make-up brands to at-home fertility products.
She often works with brands such as Ann Summers, Primark and Revamp Professional.
Following her appearance on I'm A Celeb All Stars, it was estimated that Helen could earn £500,000 in endorsements alone within two weeks of the show airing.
Will Hobson, PR Director at Rise at Seven said: " I'm a Celeb is a show known for boosting a celebrities profile, it's a mainstream show that pulls in millions of viewers every night.
"After the series, the most popular celebrities such as Helen Flanagan can be set to earn anywhere between £250-500K extra. This can come from social media deals & endorsements."
Lucy Fallon
Although Lucy eventually made a comeback to Corrie as Bethany Platt, she originally walked away from the show in order to cash-in with lucrative online deals.
Lucy was understood to be bagging close to £100,000 a year during her first stint after becoming an award-winner and a popular star backstage.
But she is thought to have made her lost salary back thanks to just ten minutes of work a week.
When she first left, she commanded around £2,000-a-post for sharing goods with her then-495,000 followers, say insiders.
Her posts include ones on behalf of a bedding firm, a hairdresser and fashion company InTheStyle.
Katie McGlynn
When Katie left the soap as Sinead Tinker back in 2019, she became one of the first soap stars to make the most of no longer being tied down to Corrie's strict rules.
Commercial opportunities on Instagram were at their peak in 2019 and Katie easily began charging top dollar to plug all sorts to her 300,000 fans.
Within days of leaving the soap, Katie was hosting adverts for a vegan lip gloss brand.
A showbiz insider said at the time: "Coming off the biggest soap in the country with huge social followings they are a dream to companies wanting to reach viewers without spending major amounts on advertising.
"Stars can command hundreds of pounds for a quick Instagram story if they're smart.
"They could make thousands a month just from some bigger posts."
Kym Marsh
Former Michelle Connor actress Kym Marsh has also managed to rake in the dough since quitting her role.
Kym has become synonymous with Kym meanwhile with sharing posts about furniture brands and gas companies on her own social media.
This year, Kym has also been earning money from the Government after they began paying her to promote the Department of Health and Social Care 's No Smoking campaign.
Kym disclosed she has received a fee to plug NHS Quit Smoking App and even recorded an advertisement for TV.
She has even plugged Parka coats and eyelashes in the process.
Ellie Leach
When Ellie quit her role as Faye Windass, she immediately took up a spot on Strictly Come Dancing.
Whilst the show isn't known for it's big pay-day, Ellie's winning ways saw her in high demand with PR experts estimating that she could rake in a huge £500,000 following the show thanks to carefully organised brand deals.
Brand expert Nick Ede previously told The Sun: 'Ellie has a very strong social media following and with her fabulous figure and movie star looks, fashion and beauty brands will be snapping her up for campaigns.
'I can see her earning over half a million in a year with brand deals, personal appearances and presenting and TV roles.'