Coronation Street and Emmerdale stars turn to side hustles amid ITV budget woes

Cait Fitton has played Lauren Bolton since 2022

Coronation Street and Emmerdale have been two of ITV’s flagship programmes for decades – but some of their stars are now reportedly turning to side hustles to make extra money. Earlier this year, the two soaps crossed over for a special that was titled Corriedale and it was all a way to launch the “soap power hour,” which came amid the broadcaster’s budget cuts.

Each programme saw a reduction in episodes, whilst ITV Daytime staples Loose Women and Lorraine were also faced with cuts. Now, it’s been claimed that three stars from across both soaps have figured out a way to make extra money even though it can be tricky thanks to the broadcaster’s policies when it comes to additional work.

A source said: “Doing brand deals is very complicated because of ITV rules but music is much easier. A lot of them are very gifted and they love it, so it makes sense for them to do gigs on the side. They aren’t playing arenas or anything like that, it’s always very small pubs and bars and the people there often have no idea that they are also on the country’s biggest soaps.”

Cait has been singing in pubs alongside her regular acting job (Image: tiktok)

Cait Fitton, who has played Rovers barmaid Lauren Bolton on Coronation Street since 2022, initially found fame singing on Britain’s Got Talent and is often seen performing in pubs with clips that surface on social media. Speaking about her side hustle, an insider insisted that she “loves” her job on the soap but her gigging can be a “great little earner.”

Joe-Warren Plant, 24, who plays Jacob Gallagher on Emmerdale recently worked in a Blackpool pub pulling pints alongside filming his role as the student nurse, but quit that and has been spotted on social media working as a DJ. It’s thought that he took inspiration from co-star Jeff Hordley, who has starred as Cain Dingle since 2000, having seen him also undertake the same sort of work.

Speaking to The Sun, the source added: “Joe has seen how well Jeff does from his DJing and he’s really passionate about it too. He often asks Jeff for advice and is keen to make a real go of it. They are always thinking about the next thing just in case their contracts don’t get renewed.”

Jeff Hordley, who plays Cain Dingle on Emmerdale, has been spotted working as a DJ(Image: @mattslifeandtravels/tiktok)

It’s thought that Joe-Warren Plant, who plays Jacob Sugden on Emmerdale, has started up a similar venture (Image: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Jeff, 56, previously opened up about his additional work as a DJ. He said: “I DJ a lot, that’s been my out of work acting job for years. I DJed for many years at a club in Manchester called the Rock ‘N’ Roll bar. It [was] my saviour really, in terms of being a young actor, because I didn’t have to sign on.

“I could earn decent money by DJing at this nightclub on a Friday night and I was lucky enough to… over that period, we had guests every week. It was quite a well-known club in Manchester.”

Coronation Street salaries are not publicly known, but according to reports, Jack P Shepherd, who has played David Platt since 2000, and William Roache (Ken Barlow) earn around around £250,000 a year for their long-running roles.

It’s thought that smaller parts command a fee of £400 per episode, and it’s similar at Emmerdale with long-serving actors reportedly pulling in six-figure salaries.

Claire King, who initially played Kim Tate from 1989 until 1999 but made an explosive comeback in 2018, is said to receive £230,000, with other key players like Chris Chittell (Eric Pollard), and Emma Atkins (Charity Dingle) also pulling in salaries of a similar figure.