Coronation Street’s Jack P Shepherd has a very different life off-screen than his character David Platt has had on the Cobbles since he first ook on the role in 2000
David Platt has been involved in a number of dramatic storylines over the years on the cobbles of Coronation Street, including his cunning scams, pushing his mum down the stairs, being diagnosed with epilepsy, putting Nick in a coma, grieving the loss of his wife Kylie and being raped by Josh Tucker.
Off the screen, actor Jack P Shepherd’s life is thankfully much less turbulent and violent than David’s. The 35-year-old star who was born in Pudsey, had appeared in several ITV and BBC shows before taking on his most iconic role to date, including playing alongside his Coronation Street sister Tina O’Brien in Clocking Off. He’s also had several theatre roles, including a part in an adaption of West Side Story and Oliver!
Outside of his career, he’s found love with one of his Corrie colleagues, Hanni Treweek, who previously worked on the show as a storyline writer and researcher. However, the pair’s romance didn’t begin on set as they actually got to chatting later at a mutual friend’s wedding.
The Daily Star reports Jack said: “We got chatting, I made Hanni laugh, we had a couple of drinks and we flirted. That was it.” They then bumped into each other in their local Sainsbury’s and began texting. “I texted her afterwards and said ‘that was awkward’ and she told me she thought she looked a mess and then we started texting from there,” he continued. “I actually thought she looked fit – I just saw the girl I fancy wearing Lycra! We quickly went on our first date and we just clicked.”
The pair confirmed their relationship in January 2018, with the actor telling OK! Magazine that Hanni is his “soulmate”. He later discussed their future together on Loose Women, including the possibility of marriage and kids, saying: “I think it is only sensible really to have those sorts of conversations with a partner or someone that you’re dating even if you’re going out for like a few months, as soon as you know it’s serious.” His partner Hanni was also on the show and added: “I think we fell quite quickly and from that we just clicked, and we were on the same page, and you do have those conversations but yeah I think we would like to… in the future.”
Hanni and Jack have now been living together for two years and share regular updates about their life together online, showing followers snaps and clips inside their home, of their three dogs and a look at their trips and date nights. The Corrie star has hinted that marriage is in their future, but they’re not in a rush to hit all the big milestones right away. Jack told OK!: “We will get married but we’re not engaged yet. We want to do all those big milestones like marry, have kids, and buy a house, we’re just not quite there yet. I didn’t want to scare Hanni off but we did have the discussion about marriage and children early on as you need to know you want the same things.”
Before finding love with Hanni, Jack was in a long-term relationship with a woman named Lauren Shippey, who he had been with since 2002. The pair share two children, a daughter named Nyla and son, Reuben. However, their relationship was rocked in 2010 after the actor hit the headlines, as it was reported that he’d cheated on his girlfriend with sales executive Sammy Milewski, who was pregnant as a result. The pair broke up at the time but later reunited, with Jack going on to pop the question to Lauren with a £3,000 ring. Jack also issued an apology for any “hurt” he had caused his family.
He said: “On Sunday, there were some articles printed about errors I have made in my private life. Over the years, I have enjoyed a successful career with Coronation Street, and with this I have experienced privileges that have exceeded my own expectations. The core ingredients to my success have come from the following areas; my family, ITV Granada, and specifically my girlfriend Lauren and daughter Nyla. I would like to apologise to my family, for all the hurt and pain I have caused them, to ITV Granada for letting them down, and especially to Lauren and Nyla, who are the most important people in my life. I now need to concentrate on what is really important, my family and my career, as I have abused my position as an employee, partner and father, and for that I am deeply sorry.”
A source also told The Sun at the time: “Lauren understands Jack made a terrible mistake. Now he has made the ultimate statement that he wants to be with her for the rest of his life.” However, it seemed that wasn’t to be the case, with the couple breaking up for good in 2017, but vowing to remain good friends for the sake of their children. The Coronation Street actor also shares son Greyson with Sammy, but has reportedly never met the child. However, he does pay maintenance after he learned that he was Greyson’s dad following a DNA test. The youngster sadly suffers from an incurable genetic disorder.
In addition to some drama in his love life over the years, Jack has also experienced the pressures that come with being in the spotlight, especially when it comes to appearance and body shaming. The actor admitted to having a hair transplant in 2019, telling his Instagram followers that his confidence had become so low, he’d considered quitting Corrie. “I decided to get it done as it was affecting my mental health. To the point where I considered giving up acting and not being in the public eye,” he said.
The TV star had a second operation in 2020 and hit back at critics over “hurtful” comments, adding: “I know some people will say that I am being incredibly vain having a second hair transplant so quickly after the first one. All I can say to that was that I needed to do it for my long-term mental well-being. I have been in Corrie for 20 years now – ever since I was 12. I know I have been incredibly lucky and love working with such a fantastic group of actors but the relentless schedules take their toll on your mental health, particularly when you have been through as much trauma as David Platt. People pick over your appearance on social media every day and some of those comments really hurt.”
He’s also been candid about struggling with an eating disorder after his body weight was shamed online. After being tagged in a particularly cruel comment, he decided to reply “‘I have an eating disorder. Thank you for being nice.” Fans were quick to share messages of support for the actor, praising his honesty and sending him well wishes.
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