Coronation Street
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Michelle Keegan - Tina McIntyre
Fresh faced actress Michelle first came to Corrie aged just 21 and was soon embroiled in all manner of trouble in her role as brash Tina McIntyre. Her character will be making a dramatic exit from the show in the next few weeks.
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Chesney Brown - Sam Aston
Devoted Corrie fans have watched Chesney (or Sam) grow up on screen. Now a local businessman and kebab shop owner, we can still remember Chesney getting clipped around the ear by Rita for nicking sweets!
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Deirdre Barlow - Anne Kirkbride
First appearing in 1972, Deirdre Barlow (nee Hunt) has been on our screens for more than 40 years. The enormous spectacles may be a thing of the past, but actress Anne Kirkbride still gives Deirdre her trademark gravelly voice.
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Dennis Tanner - Philip Lowrie
Check out fresh faced Dennis Tanner back in his youth! Actor Philip Lowrie was in the very first 1960 episode of Corrie and, after a whopping 43 year absence, he returned to Weatherfield in 2011. By which time we'd all forgotten that he was once a little bit dishy in his day!
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Emily Bishop - Eileen Derbyshire
Crumbs! Would you look at young Emily Bishop just about to get married to mild-mannered Ernest after his imprisonment in Majorca in 1972! She's come a long way since then and today actress Eileen Derbyshire is a stalwart member of the Corrie crew with over 50 years under her belt.
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Rosie Webster - Helen Flanagan
Goodness gracious, young Rosie Webster has certainly grown up...Actress Helen Flanagan took on the role of school girl Rosie in 2000, leaving in 2012 to take up a position in reality TV show "I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!". FHM are pretty keen on the former Miss Webster too, would you believe?
Eastenders
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Sonia Fowler - Natalie Cassidy
Back on the Square in 2014, 31 year old Natalie Cassidy first hit our screens as 10 year old, trumpet playing Sonia, the offspring of mum Carol's fling with Terry Cant. Just as famous off-screen, Cassidy has grown up under the tabloid spotlight, but didn't she do well?
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Abi Branning – Lorna Fitzgerald
Ah, Jay & Abi, Albert Square's answer to Romeo and Juliet, yet Abi Branning hasn't always been tangled up in romances in EastEnders. Actress Lorna Fitzgerald first came to our screens aged 10 in 2006, as the golden girl of the Branning family.
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Ian Beale - Adam Woodyatt
Look at cheeky little Ian Beale back in the day! After 29 years on Albert Square, is it any wonder that actor Adam Woodyatt has lost his youthful glow and boyish charm? As one of only two original EastEnders left, Adam is a Queen Vic veteran.
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Tiffany Butcher – Maisie Smith
How could flame-haired actress Maisie Smith take on any role other than that of Bianca's daughter? Tiffany Butcher came to the Square aged just 7, now 13 years old, actress Masie has Alfred picked up awards for her portrayal of “butter-wouldn't-melt” Tiffany.
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Dot Cotton - June Brown
Look at gorgeous June Brown back in her youth! You can tell from the much-loved Dot Cotton's beautiful bone structure that June was an absolute knock out, and (away from her less-than-flattering Albert Square get up) she's as fabulous as ever.
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Peggy Mitchell - Barbara Windsor
Good old Barbs, more ballsy than a game of no deposit bingo and more matriarchal than Her Majesty. It would be fair to crown good old Peggy Mitchell as the Queen of the Queen Vic, but she wasn't always such a brilliant battleaxe, here's a lovely glamour shot from back in her glitzy heyday!
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Sharon Watts - Letitia Dean
She may have come and gone more times than we can count, but Sharon is the only other original character still on our screens. Still buxom, bouffant and blonde, actress Letitia Dean (46) is looking fabulous even without the massive 80s hair.
Hollyoaks
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Tom Cunningham - Ellis Hollins
There's something of a soapy urban legend out there that cheeky little Tom Cunningham (played by Ellis Hollins) doesn't age, but just look at how Ellis has grown up while he's been collecting all of those best young actor awards!
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Tony Hutchinson - Nick Pickard
Here's a very young Tony Hutchinson in the original Hollyoaks opening credits in 1995. 19 years on, actor Nick Pickard is Hollyoaks' longest serving cast member. His character has now evolved from a geek with little success in the romance department into "The Hutch" who, at the last count, has got 5 of the village's female characters in the family way.
