Coronation Street fans were seeing double during Friday night’s instalment of the ITV soap, as Bernie Winter and newcomer Fern shared their first scene
Fern (Gabrielle Glaister) made a memorable first appearance on the ITV soap, as she interrupted Bernie (Jane Hazlegrove) after her return from a shopping spree.
Bernie came back to the cobbles with Joseph’s new uniform and a posh blue blazer for herself in tow, only to admit that the blazer was meant for someone else and given to her in error.
When Gemma and Chesney urged her to take it back, Bernie refused – only for it to be forcibly taken from her when Fern called at No.5 and accused Bernie of theft.
Bernie tried to tell the newcomer that it was an "honest mistake" but Fern was not buying it and it wasn’t long before they were throwing insults at each other, as they clocked how unbelievably similar they looked.
The likeness was uncanny and left several Corrie fans amazed given the actresses are not related in real life.
Taking to Twitter one wrote: “OMG they look so alike the only difference you can tell between them is that they don't sound the same.”
The lookalikes left several fans predicting a long-lost sister twist could be coming for the pair on the soap, as one fan wrote: “Is this going to be Bernie’s long-lost sister or something?”
“Bernie's twin sister?? That's just weird!” another wrote as a fellow fan chimed: “It’s like looking in the mirror, aye Bernie.”
Actress Jane has revealed that the pair look so similar that some of their Coronation Street colleagues have even stopped Gabrielle in the corridor to chat thinking it was her.
She said: “I mentioned this idea to Jonathan a while ago. Gabby and I are constantly mistaken for each other with people saying they have seen one of us in something when it was the other one.
“We have often laughed about it together but then I started thinking it might be fun to have her in the show as Bernie’s secret twin or a doppelganger.
“I was so chuffed when they told me that they had devised this storyline and that Gabby was on board.”
Jane said that shortly after the plotline was developed, she was again mistaken for Gabrielle at the Soap Awards.
She continued: “The actor was mortified when I pointed out who I was but of course I don’t mind being mistaken for Gabby, it is a huge compliment and secretly I was thinking ‘that’s brilliant, this storyline is going to work so well’.”
