Coronation Street stars Jack P Shepherd and Ben Price have exposed drama on set, after a well-intentioned Christmas gift led to tension amongst the cast behind the scenes
Kathryn Ingate Deputy Editor of Trendswatch
17:18, 15 Dec 2025
Ben Price, Colson Smith and Jack P. Shepherd(Image: Getty Images)
Coronation Street’s Jack P Shepherd and Ben Price have spilled the beans on some backstage drama at the Cobbles. David Platt actor, Jack, was eager to find out who was responsible after noticing items disappearing from the set.
The soap stars discussed the mystery on their podcast with former Corrie colleague Colson Smith, who played Craig Tinker. During the latest episode of the On The Sofa podcast, Ben disclosed that while the cast didn’t receive any cake to mark Coronation Street’s 65th anniversary, they were gifted an advent calendar filled with goodies.
However, Ben revealed that the festive gift had sparked a “nasty” situation, as one cast member had been helping themselves to more than their fair share of chocolates.
Nick Tilsley actor, Ben, shared: “It’s got nasty, and I think we have to talk about it, the advent calendar at work. It’s s****y, it is s****y! Someone gave us one..”
Jack P Shepherd as David Platt
Jack chimed in to clarify that co-star James Cartwright, who portrays Theo Silverton, had generously gifted his Corrie mates with a Ferrero Rocher advent calendar.
Continuing the story, Jack said: “He brought in loads of calendars for every department – costume got one, makeup got one, cast got one, so on, so on, so on. And he’s gone on holiday now for Christmas.
“He’s off, he’s left it, he said, ‘open the doors in numerical order’, as an advent calendar is,” Ben added.
Jack then bashfully confessed: “Well, I started the jump, I started the jump, but let me explain…” Colson probed his mate: “Oh! Are you thinking weekends?”.
“Exactly that, Colson. So I was in on the Friday, me and Ben were in late on Thursday,” Jack recalled, revealing that he and Ben had decided to indulge in the chocolates early, as none of their colleagues would have been there to open the advent calendar over the weekend.
Corrie’s Steve McDonald denied being involved(Image: ITV)
However, their plan went awry when co-star Joe Tuttine, who plays Tim Metcalfe, arrived on set on Monday morning eager to enjoy Friday, Saturday and Sunday’s chocolates, only to discover they had already been devoured.
Jack continued, explaining that the problem had only escalated, as he noticed even more chocolates had disappeared from upcoming dates in the calendar once he returned to work.
He stated: “So, I started the jump, but today, someone has just taken the p***,” prompting Colson to inquire if Jack had identified “any culprits”.
Jack confessed he had initially suspected his co-star, Steve McDonald actor Simon Gregson, of swiping the chocolates, adding: “No, I asked. I thought it was Si Gregson, he said no, but he said he knows who it is. And I said, ‘boy or girl?’ and he said, ‘I’m not saying’.”
Ben playfully speculated that the chocolate thief would be “someone who would rob your house”, joking: “If they’re prepared to do that, they’re prepared to do really nasty things!”.
