Richard Fleeshman shot to stardom with his portrayal of Craig Harris on Coronation Street.
The soap actor was 12-years-old when he joined the cast of the ITV show in 2002. His performance as the troubled teenager was a hit with fans as he was a mainstay on the Cobbles until 2006.
Craig's family moved to Weatherfield as part of a witness protection programme and his stint on the soap is mainly remembered for his turbulent relationship with Rosie Webster. The two adopted the goth look after Craig lost his entire family when their true identities were blown.
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Craig and Rosie stayed together despite the best efforts of Keith Appleyard and Sally Webster to split them up. The couple decided they would depart the Cobbles to lead a new life in Berlin, but Rosie had second thoughts at the last minute and Craig left on his own.
Richard exited the show at the age of 16 to pursue his dreams of becoming a West-End star. He had already proven his singing talents when he became the youngest person to ever win the Stars In Their Eyes celebrity special when he was just 13-years-old.
Richard hails from an incredibly talented family as he is the son of actors Sue Jenkins and David Fleeshman. Sue hails from Liverpool and is renowned for her role as Jackie Corkhill in Brookside and Gloria Todd in Coronation Street.
David has also forged a successful career in television and appeared in Alan Bleasdale's classic Boys from the Blackstuff. Richard has two sisters named Emily and Rosie, who also both work in showbiz.
The soap star's stage dreams were realised when he bagged a highly-sought after supporting role in Legally Blonde and another lead role in Ghost: The Musical. After his West End breakthrough, Richard took a hiatus from acting to concentrate on his music career which led to him touring twice alongside Sir Elton John.
Away from the world of showbiz, the actor-turned-singer is loved up with model girlfriend Celinde Schoenmaker. And, although he left Coronation Street over 15-years-ago, Richard is still the best of friends with fellow Corrie star Ryan Thomas.
Richard has now adopted a completely different look from his time on Weatherfield and regularly shows off his ripped transformation with his followers on Instagram. He eventually returned to the screen - and looks unrecognisable from his Corrie days in his new role as Nick Nitro in ITV2's Deep Heat.
The comedy is set in the world of professional wrestling and follows an aspiring superstar named Holly who is facing the challenge of a lifetime after Nick poaches all of her promotion's best wrestlers. Richard dons a pair of gold wrestling trunks for the new show - and the executive producers said they are excited for fans to see the finished product.
Louise Delamere and Stephen Mangan said: "We can’t wait to unleash the wonderful Deep Heat on the world – a high-energy and joyous comic celebration of wrestling, glamour and tight spandex.”
Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV and the ITV Hub
Deep Heat starts Monday March 28 on ITV2 at 9pm
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