Soaps

Prince Charles wows in EastEnders and Coronation Street cameos

The Duke of Cornwall's trip to EastEnders isn't his first appearance in a soap!

Prince Charles and his wife Camilla wowed the residents of Albert Square when they had a guest starring role in EastEnders, as part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

But the Duke of Cornwall’s stint in Enders wasn’t his first appearance on a soap.

Prince Charles also appeared in Coronation Street back in 2000, as part of the show’s 40th anniversary celebrations.

And you can catch his first soap starring role in Classic Corrie this month.

Prince Charles meets Sue Nicholls, aka Audrey Roberts on the Coronation Street set
Prince Charles met Sue Nicholls on the Corrie set and footage from their meeting was used in the live episode (Credit: ITV/Shutterstock)

What happened when Charles visited Weatherfield?

In December 2000, Charles visited the set of Coronation Street to commemorate the show’s anniversary.

He was given a tour of the famous cobbles, and met some of the well-loved cast members, including Liz Dawn, who played Vera Duckworth and Sue Nicholls, AKA Audrey Roberts.

Prince Charles stands in the middle of Coronation Street cast members including Bill Roache, Jack P Shepherd and Simon Gregson on the rainy cobbles
Yes that is a tiny David Platt and a bearded Steve McDonald meeting Prince Charles on the Corrie set (Credit: ITV/Shutterstock)

Save the cobbles!

The 40th anniversary episode revolved around the residents of the Street fighting to stop the famous cobbles being dug up. Plus iconic character Vera was in hospital having given her grandson Paul a kidney.

The show’s bosses took some footage of Sue Nicholls, who plays Audrey, meeting Prince Charles earlier that day on set, and played it during the live episode.

They included it in the story about the cobbles being under threat, and wrote it into the episode as Audrey – who was a local councillor at the time – meeting Prince Charles.

Other guest stars in the episode

Prince Charles wasn’t the only cameo in the 40th anniversary episode.

Slade singer Noddy Holder also appeared in the show as a character called Stan.

And some of the drinkers in the Rovers watched an item on the news, in which Trevor McDonald read out a story about Prince Charles visiting Manchester.

The 40th anniversary live episode also saw the first appearance of Chris Gascoyne as Peter Barlow – what a way to begin a career in soap!

Camilla in Corrie

Prince Charles’s wife Camilla is a lifelong Corrie fan. She got her chance to walk along the cobbles when she visited the set as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations in 2010.

She even quizzed Anne Kirkbride – AKA Deirdre Barlow – about her upcoming storylines and her relationship with husband Ken!

Camilla meets Anne Kirkbride on the set of Coronation Street in 2010, behind the bar at the Rovers
Camilla confessed to being a lifelong Corrie fan and quizzed Anne Kirkbride about the latest drama for her alter ego Deirdre Barlow (Credit: ITV)

The Queen in Weatherfield

Her Majesty the Queen has also visited the Corrie set.

She walked the cobbles last year and spent a while mingling with the cast and crew.

And she also visited back in 1982, when the show filmed at its original location.

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Coronation Street usually airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV.

Classic Coronation Street is on ITV3 every week day at 3pm and 3.30pm.

Do you remember Prince Charles’s appearance in Corrie? Let us know on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix.


Kerry Barrett
Freelance Soap Writer