Coronation Street Tommy Orpington's forgotten role as icon in rival soap
Coronation Street fans have been left enthralled with the latest drama to rock the cobbles after witnessing the beginning of Tommy and Tracey's love affair.
Long-time fans of the show will know that actor Matt Milburn has been playing his character on and off since 2016, but some may not know that the actor has previously starred in rival shows. Milburn is no stranger to the small screen, having first started his acting career back in 2004.
Matt first appeared on the cobbles on October 3 2016 when his character sought the help of Michelle Connor to organise his wedding. He played Tommy Orpington, a professional football player, who went on to become friends with both Michelle's husband Steve McDonald, and his business partner Tim Metcalfe - which ignited a feud between the pair. The character retired from playing football back in 2021 and now works as a painter and decorator.
But what else has Matt starred in and what about his life outside of the show? Here at The Mirror, we decided to take a look.
Tommy has embarked on an affair with Tracy McDonald (ITV/Danielle Baguley/REX/Shutterstock)Previous acting career
Matt has previously acted in other shows including Channel 4's Hollyoaks as Joe Spencer from 2003 until 2006.
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His character was dramatically killed off in a fire at The Dog in the Pond. He also starred in Doctors for two episodes as the characters Leon D'Costa and Dexter Thomson.
Loving marriage
Matt previously played Joe in Hollyoaks (Lime Pictures)Matt is happily married to his loving wife and shared a beautiful tribute to her last year. He wrote: "The Happiest of Birthdays today to my gorgeous wife(and Stay) xxx It's been a tough yr for her and her twin Stacy Franklin, after being involved in a horrible accident in January.
"The way they have dealt with it, both physically and mentally has been nothing short of amazing. Spirit, resolve, determination... has inspired me and Makes me super proud onwards and upwards now!!
"Have the best day, sorry can't be there but we'll celebrate when I'm back!! Love you all the #superwife #hardasnails #twinpower# #ifcarlsbergdidwives."
Soap star sibling
Matt Milburn is also the real-life brother of actor Greg Wood who played evil gangster Rick Neelan on Coronation Street on a recurring basis from 2009 until the character was murdered by Gary Windass in 2019.
Matt once revealed how it was Greg who inspired him to take up acting after years of feeling unsure what to do with his career. Speaking to the TV Times, he said: “Watching my brother in his first college play ignited my fire for it [acting].
"Seeing the adrenaline surge through him afterward, I thought: ‘I’d love to give that a go.’ But I just never did. "I struggled from my late teens to early 20s to pin down exactly what I wanted to do. I did a BTEC in Sports Science as I thought I wanted to be a PE teacher."
He then went on to add: "Then I did A-Levels, and was about to do sports journalism at university when my first opportunity to act came along. Greg was due to film a play for his mates at university, but he got a part in Brookside [as Terry Gibson], so he put my name forward without telling me. It was called Dealer’s Choice by Patrick Marber – it’s about poker.”
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