Former Coronation Street star Rebecca Ryan has been sharing the love for her brother and co-star Jack.
Rebecca portrayed the role of Lydia Chambers from 2021-2022. She was the ex-girlfriend of Adam Barlow (Sam Robertson), and was hellbent on causing trouble for him and partner Sarah (Tina O’Brien).
Lydia’s behaviour spiralled and got so bad, she pushed Adam over a balcony in a shopping mall, resulting in him sustaining serious injuries.
Rebecca worked on the cobbles at the same time as Jack James Ryan. While his character Jacob Hay and Lydia didn’t share a connection, the two soap stars do in real life, as they are actually siblings!
Just recently, Rebecca shared some pictures of Jack on her Instagram Stories, paying tribute to her brother on his birthday.
She wrote alongside: ‘Happy Birthday to my little brother and my best friend!! You are the best little brother and the best uncle and we couldn’t love you anymore’.
Rebecca went on to say: ‘You are my biggest inspiration, and I couldn’t be more proud of you and everything you have achieved so far. This is only the beginning, and I can’t wait to see the exciting future ahead of you’.
When Jack was 19, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
The star has been incredibly open about his journey following the diagnosis, and is now passionate about encouraging men to talk about their health.
Jack spoke about his diagnosis on the podcast Industry Minds and wrote the play Me & My Left Ball that highlighted his experiences.
In the episode that aired in 2020, Jack said he ‘felt really numb’ after being given the news.
‘My brother and mum started crying and I was just kind of in the middle as if time had stopped. It was weird, really weird, as though time had stopped. And then I always had this feeling that “this isn’t going to be the thing that kills me”, I don’t know why I was so confident!’.
He went on to say: ‘I also suffered and probably still do, my self esteem was quite low. I went through surgery, so many things began playing on my mind.’
Jack played Jacob in Corrie from 2021-2023. He was initially introduced as a drug dealer working for Harvey Gaskell (Will Mellor), and then went on a journey of redemption as he tried to create a better life for himself.
Unfortunately, when Jacob’s biological father Damon (Ciaran Griffiths) arrived, it wasn’t long until the criminal’s actions ultimately resulted in Jacob disappearing from the cobbles.
