Coronation Street star Jack P Shepherd has shared the actual reason for using 'P' in his acting credits. The actor is best known for playing David Platt in the ITV soap.
And the troublesome character has been in the show since 1990 - but Jack actually joined in 2000 - and he's gone on to play a part in the soap's biggest storylines, with viewers seeing him go from tormenting his own family to being the concerned stepdad to troublesome teen Max Turner.
But in a new episode of his Sofa Cinema Club podcast that he hosts with two of his Corrie co-stars, it was revealed that Jack had to add the 'P' into his name when he became an actor due to there already being a Jack Shepherd in the profession.
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In the podcast episode Jack, Colson Smith and Ben Price, who play Craig Tinker and Nick Tilsley in the long-running soap, were speaking about changing their names. Ben kicked off by suggesting that his and Colson's last names aren't "great" with him telling his soap buddy Smith is like Price and it's "s**t".
"So you know when you get the phone call as a child actor and it's, 'What do you want your equity name to be?' Because there can only be one [of each name] registered," Colson went on to reveal. When Ben suggested there was only one 'Colson Smith' and that he was 'fine', the 24-year-old shared how he did ask for a new name.
"Do you know what I asked my mum if I could have as my equity name? Colson Letizia," he went on to confess to laughs from his co-stars. "I just thought it sounded good," Colson giggled. "Because Jack can't have his real name," Ben shared. "You've got to have the 'P'," he added before Jack explained about the other actor.
"Any good?" Colson asked is Jack asked: "Is he a good actor?" before adding; "Yeah. Yeah, he is." Ben asked: "He works a lot?" as Jack confirmed: "Yeah."
The first Jack Shepherd appears to be an English actor, playwright and theatre director from Leeds. The now 82-year-old is known for his television roles, most notably the title role in Trevor Griffiths' series about a young Labour MP Bill Brand (1976), and the detective drama Wycliffe.
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