A number of the nation's soap stars have now become millionaires after leaving their respective shows.
Several stars from the likes of EastEnders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale often started their careers in the soaps as a springboard for their acting career or for branching off in other lines of work.
Some soap actors now lead very normal lives after their time on the screen, while others have become millionaires with their new ventures, reports MyLondon.
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But the end of soap stardom didn't mean the end of moneymaking for these deep-pocketed actors.
Some of them have stuck around British towns or have left for sunnier climes in Malibu.
Here are the soap stars who have now become millionaires after leaving their respective shows.
Martine McCutcheon
Despite a tumultuous time after quitting EastEnders in 1998, including a battle with chronic illness and having to declare bankruptcy, Martine McCutcheon's net worth is said to be between £1 million and £4 million, the Express reports.
When she revealed that she wanted to pursue a career in music and film, Martine's character Tiffany Mitchell was killed off in EastEnders.
In 1999 she began her music career, releasing her first album as a solo artist, which reached number two in the UK albums chart. On Spotify, she has more than 30,000 monthly listeners and her most popular song, Perfect Moment, has accrued 1.3 million listens, according to SurreyLive.
She released more albums in 2000 and 2002, and her acting career was revitalised in 2003 with her role in Richard Curtis' beloved Christmas film Love Actually.
Martine also had a career in theatre, but had to end her contract playing Eliza Dolittle in My Fair Lady earlier than intended when she was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, ME. Not long after, she also found out she had Lyme disease.
She had to put her career on hold and filed for bankruptcy in 2013, but Martine now has a happy family life, living in a stunning Surrey mansion with husband Jack McManus and son Rafferty.
Michelle Keegan
In 2020, OK Magazine reported that Michelle Keegan is worth a tidy £2.7 million, much of which she seems to have earned from her lucrative career after leaving Coronation Street in 2014.
Her most notable role after leaving the soap was in Our Girl, in which she played the lead character Lance Corporal Georgie Lane.
She has also modelled for a number of clothing and beauty brands, including Revlon makeup and high street fashion label Lipsy, as well as endorsing Garnier self-tanning products.
According to OK Magazine, her Lipsy deal is said to pay around £250,000 a year while her Garnier endorsement earns her £150,000.
Her own business, Rosia Promotions Ltd, is also raking it in - company accounts show that she made half a million in 2015 and 2016, rising to a million annually in the following two years, and then £1.2 million in 2019.
Michelle is married to former TOWIE star Mark Wright, whose net worth is estimated to be an incredible £9.1 million.
Ryan Thomas
Coronation Street's Ryan Thomas has had a bit of a rough ride in the last decade.
In 2013, just a few years before he stopped playing the role of Jason Grimshaw in 2016, Ryan was hit with a £40,000 tax bill that he couldn't pay and had to declare bankruptcy.
However, reports from 2019 suggested that he was well on his way to becoming a millionaire again, with his business R James Thomas Ltd performing exceptionally well.
He also reportedly earned around £500,000 to appear on Celebrity Big Brother in 2018.
Ross Kemp
Ross Kemp played the formidable Grant Mitchell in EastEnders from 1990 to 1999, and again from 2005 to 2006 and in 2016.
Since 2004 he has received international recognition as a journalist, particularly for his documentary Ross Kemp on Gangs.
His initial two-year ITV deal after leaving EastEnders was reportedly worth £1.2 million, and since then he has worked on a number of other documentaries including Ross Kemp in Afghanistan, Ross Kemp in Search of Pirates, Ross Kemp: Battle for the Amazon and Ross Kemp: Extreme World.
His latest documentary is Britain's Tiger Kings - On the Trail with Ross Kemp, and saw him meet Britain's owners of exotic animals.
Ross's net worth is now estimated to be £1 million.
Davood Ghadami
Davood Ghadami, who played Kush in EastEnders until the character's death this year, is set to become a millionaire property magnate.
Davood's company is preparing to build 20 homes in his hometown of Harlow in Essex, where the average house price is £317,000, according to property website Rightmove.
The website Idol Net Worth predicts his net worth to currently stand at $3.2 million, or £2.3 million, but it seems his property business is set to push that figure even higher.
Adam Thomas
According to the website Wealthy Genius, ex-Emmerdale actor Adam Thomas is estimated to have a net worth of $2 million, or £1.4 million. It's not clear whether he made this money during or after his time on the soap, but Adam has had several other jobs aside from his Emmerdale role.
He played Adam Barton on Emmerdale between 2009 and 2018, and also won the hearts of the nation when he came in third place on 2016's I'm A Celeb.
It was reported in 2016 that Adam quit Emmerdale after bosses tried to block him from taking a £100,000 panto role in Newcastle's Jack and the Beanstalk.
Many will also remember Adam as Donte Charles in BBC One's school-based drama series Waterloo Road, which he was on from 2006 to 2009.
Jac Jossa
28-year-old Jacqueline Jossa rose to fame playing Lauren Branning on EastEnders from 2010 to 2018, and is now loved for her honest and heart-warming Instagram content where she posts about her family.
Since leaving the soap, Jac has been dedicated to raising her two daughters, Ella and Mia, and building a home with husband Dan Osborne.
She was, however, crowned Queen of the Jungle on I'm A Celebrity in 2019, for which she was reportedly paid £75,000.
Since her win, she has collaborated with online retailer In The Style, and appeared on stage in a West End performance of The Christmas Carol.
The Express has reported that Jac has banked a fortune of £1.2 million throughout her career.
Peter Amory
Ex-Emmerdale star Peter Amory is reportedly worth between $1.5 million to $5.5 million (£1 million - £4 million), according to the website Idol Celebs, and is best known for playing the role of Chris Tate on the soap from 1989 to 2003.
While it's likely Peter made most of his fortune on Emmerdale, he has been fairly steadily working since leaving the show.
Following his character's suicide on the soap, Peter had a number of cameo roles on TV shows such as Casualty, Heartbeat, Crimes That Shook The World and The Tudors.
He was also in 2009 British comedy horror slasher film Tormented, playing a headteacher.
Patsy Palmer
Patsy Palmer, best known for playing Bianca Jackson in EastEnders, is reportedly worth a huge $13 million (£9.3 million) according to Idol Net Worth.
She played Bianca on the soap for extended periods, from 1993 to 1999, 2008 to 2014, and again in 2019. Before that, she was in Grange Hill from 1985 to 1987, playing the role of Natasha.
Patsy, who grew up in Bethnal Green, has now swapped the East London streets for a gorgeous home in Malibu, California.
She works as a DJ, and has recently launched her hair care brand Good & Proper which sells plant-based hair oils for as much as $72.
