If anyone needs a bit of escapism at the moment, it’s Jack P Shepherd. As we reported on Entertainment Daily yesterday, the Corrie star – who plays David Platt – has split from his fiancee Lauren Shipley.
Although she forgave him for having a one-night stand in 2010 – which resulted in him becoming the father of a love child – the couple have now called time on their relationship after 15 years together.
But rather than sit at home feeling sorry for himself, Jack has evidently decided that the best way to bring some light back into his life is through humour.
To celebrate Halloween, the 29-year-old has posted a hilarious video to his Twitter account, in which he teams up with two of his Corrie co-stars to re-enact scenes from horror film The Shining.
The original film, released in 1980 and directed by Stanley Kubrick, is regarded as one of the scariest films ever to hit the silver screen.
It stars Jack Nicholson as an aspiring writer who lands a job as an out-of-season caretaker at a spooky hotel in the mountains, and takes his wife and young son to stay with him.
However, it soon becomes clear that the hotel has a gruesome past, and the trio are haunted by ghosts and other strange goings-on, until Nicholson’s character is driven insane.
Perfect fodder, then, for some uproarious Halloween japes – and Jack Shepherd and his pals Catherine Tyldesley and Shayne Ward clearly had some fun.
Read more: Corrie bosses respond to backlash over dark murder scenes
In the short clip, Jack plays the young son and is seen whizzing around the hotel’s corridors on a trike.
At that point, he bumps into Catherine and Shayne dressed as The Shining’s creepy twin sisters (except, of course, they don’t look much alike).
They ask him if he wants to play with them “forever and ever” – a request that makes him cover his face in horror.
The clip is captioned with the words: “Just another day at work @shayneTward @Cath_Tyldesley.”
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And fans of the stars were quick to tweet their approval. One wrote: “Thanks for sharing the fun. Loved it!”
Another referred to Corrie’s resident psychopath, saying: “Oh my god, scary. Is Phelan gonna pop his head through the door shouting: ‘Here’s Phelan!’ next?”
No doubt Corrie bosses will be pleased that Jack and co have made the video, as it temporarily takes the heat off them following criticisms of the murders seen in last night’s episode.
Viewers winced as Andy Carver killed Vinny Ashford, and was then shot dead himself by the conniving Phelan.
Jack and Lauren have two young children together – an eight-year-old daughter and a three-year-old son.
A representative for the pair told The Sun: “Jack and Lauren remain the best of friends and their main focus is the care of their children.”