EMMERDALE fans have been left stunned after a Coronation Street star made an unlikely appearance in a classic episode – and ‘hasn’t aged a day’.
It’s not unusual for actors to appear in more than one soap during their career, usually making smaller appearances in rival shows before securing the big role that they become most known for.
However, it still surprises soap fans when they see a familiar face in a different fictional soap world.
This week, Emmerdale fans were left doing a double-take when they saw Daniel Brocklebank in the Yorkshire village.
Daniel, 44, is best known for playing vicar Billy Mayhew in Coronation Street since 2014.
But a number of years before he arrived in Weatherfield, Daniel arrived in the Dales as Ivan Jones.
He portrayed the character from 2005 to 2006, and his Emmerdale arrival aired again in classic episodes on ITV3 this week.
Daniel was thrilled to see his scenes play out, and posed for a picture in front of his TV screen alongside his younger self.
He captioned the snap on social media: “Today Ivan Jones entered #ClassicEmmerdale… I’m now officially running in two amazing shows on @itv. Here’s me at 24 & 44…”
His followers were left stunned, with one replying: “OMG!”
Another wrote: “You look exactly the same!”
A third tweeted: “Haven’t aged a day! Only grown more handsome!”
Daniel was only supposed to appear in three episodes originally, but he impressed Emmerdale bosses so much he ended up staying for well over a year.
Ivan was bisexual and embarked on a relationship with Paul Lambert, however, their intimate scenes caused controversy, with Ofcom receiving 126 complaints.
Thankfully, Ofcom cleared Emmerdale of any wrongdoing, and Daniel revealed that despite Christian groups writing to him to condemn his character’s sexuality, he had also received lots of letters of support from young members of the LGBTQ community.
Daniel then joined Coronation Street in 2014 as gay vicar Billy, and his current storyline sees him dealing with husband Paul’s heartbreaking MND diagnosis.
Emmerdale and Coronation Street both air on ITV1, while Classic Emmerdale airs on ITV3. All three are available on ITVX.