Coronation Street star Jude Riordan has been compelled to reassure fans that there’s been ‘no recast’ after viewers were taken aback by his transformed appearance following his absence from the cobbles.

Followers of the ITV drama will recognise the young performer as Sam Blakeman, who made his Weatherfield debut in 2020 as the son of Nick Tilsley and the deceased Natasha Blakeman.

Jude, who also portrays Tyler Croft in the Sky Comedy series Brassic, made a significant impression during his Corrie entrance, subsequently securing the best newcomer award at the National Television Awards in 2021.

The soap actor has now disclosed that his stint on the cobbles has concluded for 2025, having wrapped filming before the programme’s Christmas hiatus.

Posting on Instagram, he shared several snapshots from the Trafford-based studio, including one alongside co-star Jane Hazlegrove, who portrays Bernie Winter.

In his caption, he penned: “And that’s a Christmas wrap on 2025 Corrie. It’s always a good week when you have scenes with Bernie! Loads of exciting stuff coming in 2026. STAY TUNED #corrie #samblakeman #corriekids #BTS #onthecobbles #coronationstreet #christmas.”

However, as responses poured in, Jude amended his caption to include: “EDIT – I’m still Sam it’s not a recast [crying laughing emoji],” after numerous fans expressed surprise at his more mature look. One fan exclaimed: “Wow how grown up.”

Another quipped: “Has someone at corrie been watering Jude between takes? When did that growth spurt happen? Merry Christmas big chap.”

A third commented: “Wow looking so grown up and tall! Have a great Christmas.”

This comes after Jude was seen reminiscing about his time on Brassic, the Sky Comedy series which recently concluded with its seventh series, reports the Manchester Evening News.

In the beloved series, Jude portrayed Tyler, the son of former Corrie star Michelle Keegan’s lead character, Erin. He took to Instagram to share several photos of himself alongside Michelle and their co-star Joseph ‘Joe’ Gilgun, who also co-wrote the series.

He captioned his Instagram post: “I like the funny dog, it’s an owl. Kick him! I can remember every day I did on Brassic [crying laughing emoji]. However much fun you can imagine it would be X it by 10!

“Grew up with the greats. Look how young Joe looks. From sat at the Liverpool docks running lines with everyone in different accents [crying laughing emoji] to many hours driving to France to the best bacon butties to crew dogs and just hanging out with the funniest people. Brassic days were really GOOD TIMES!”