While Coronation Street on screen is filled with drama with secrets, tears and falling Christmas trees, in real life, the atmosphere is bustling in a different way. Jack P. Shepherd – the actor associated with the image of David Platt – has just caused a stir in the soap fandom when he freely told behind-the-scenes stories related to the cast of Emmerdale.

If on screen, David is an expert in rushing into trouble, then in real life, Jack is becoming an extremely charming “spill tea” expert.

In a recent interview, Jack revealed what surprised him most when working closely with people from Emmerdale: how they learn their lines.

Viewers often imagine that all soap stars have an “industry standard” process: holding a script, underlining, mumbling each line until they know it by heart.

But Jack says that many Emmerdale actors choose more “crazy” ways: recording their own and their co-stars’ entire dialogue and listening to it over and over again like a podcast; rehearsing scenes in the dressing room to keep the emotions natural; or even video calling colleagues just to practice a few lines of dialogue to get the flow going.

For someone who has lived half his life in the corridors of the Corrie studio like Jack, these tricks are both funny and… admirable. He admits that the Coronation Street cast has a more “traditional” style, still very loyal to reading – writing – repeating, while in Emmerdale, the spirit seems flexible, as long as it is smooth on screen. Just saying that much is enough material for fans of both soaps to explode with debate and memes on social media.

What’s interesting is that the way Jack tells the story is not at all offensive or comparative. It’s like a veteran looking at his “neighbors” and discovering they have strange but effective tricks. He spoke with a mixture of curiosity, admiration, and a bit of self-mockery. Thanks to that, this behind-the-scenes story is not only a funny piece of news, but also reveals the unique charm of the soap actor community: competing, but still observing, learning, and… teasing each other for fun.

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