Coronation Street fans recognise new character Lydia from another TV show

15 December 2021, 08:52

Who is the new character in Coronation Street and what else has Rebecca Ryan been in?

Coronation Street introduced a brand new character last week in the form of Lydia.

Fans saw Lydia make friends with Sarah (Tina O’Brien) and meet up with her at the Christmas market.

She was then introduced to Sarah’s husband Adam Barlow (Sam Robertson), but it turns out she already knew him.

While Adam didn’t initially recognise her, it was then revealed the pair actually had a relationship when they went to university years ago.

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But who plays Lydia and what else has she been in?

Who plays Lydia in Coronation Street?

Lydia is played by actress Rebecca Ryan who you might recognise from a string of other TV programmes.

The Manchester-born actress is 30-years-old and is the sister of Jack James Ryan who played Jacob Hay earlier this year.

The actress has previously starred in Casualty, Emmerdale and Waterloo Road.

But fans of Corrie mostly recognise her for playing Debbie Gallagher in Channel 4 drama Shameless.

"Is that Debbie from Shameless? #Corrie,” one person wrote, while another said: "Ha, it's Debbie, from 'Shameless'! #Corrie.”

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A third added: “Look, Debbie Gallagher is now working in Underworld! #Corrie #CoronationStreet @itvcorrie."

In Emmerdale, Rebecca was the first actress to play Carly Hope before Gemma Atkinson took over the role.

She also played Vicki MacDonald in BBC school drama Waterloo Road.

In 2017, she joined the Casualty cast as Gemma Dean, the sister of paramedic Iain Dean.

After joining the cast of Corrie, a spokesperson revealed what we can expect from Rebecca’s character.

“After the dramatic events of 2021 you would think the residents of Britain’s favourite street would be looking for a quieter start to 2022, but although the storm clouds gathering this time are metaphorical, there may be just as much damage,” they said.

“Sarah and Adam are hoping to cement their relationship by starting a family, but when Sarah’s new friend Lydia turns out to be someone from Adam’s past, could all Sarah’s dreams turn to nightmares?”