Coronation Street star Jonathan Howard has revealed his reunion with EastEnders star Robert Kazinsky, 21 years after they worked together on the sports drama Dream Team. The pair met again on the red carpet at the National Television Awards.
Corrie debut and family revelation
Howard, who plays Carl Webster in the ITV soap filmed in Salford, made his debut on the cobbles last year. The new character's arrival in Weatherfield is the first time viewers have seen him, with the younger half-sibling of Kevin and Debbie Webster having only been mentioned by name previously.
As Corrie fans know, it was later revealed that Carl was actually Debbie's son. The truth came out as she took the blame for him following a horror crash in January that caused the death of Weatherfield vicar Billy Mayhew.
EastEnders return and shared history
Kazinsky was recently announced as reprising his role as Sean Slater in EastEnders, 17 years after his departure from the BBC One soap. He first appeared in Walford in 2006 as a key member of the Slater family, alongside his mother Jean (Gillian Wright) and younger sister Stacey (Lacey Turner). His character left Albert Square on New Year's Day in 2009 after a dramatic showdown involving Roxy Mitchell (Rita Simons), following the revelation that the daughter he believed was his had been fathered by another man.
He has made several surprise appearances since his departure, including a brief stint in 2019 when he supported his mother through her cancer diagnosis while confronting his own mental health issues. The troubled and volatile character has also been seen occasionally via video calls to his family.
It was announced in August that Kazinsky will return to the hit soap later this year as Sean moves back to Albert Square for his family, for reasons which "are set to become clear".
Long before their soap roles, Howard and Kazinsky worked together on Dream Team, the sports drama series which aired on Sky One from 1997 to 2007 and chronicled the on-field and off-field affairs of the fictional Premier League football club Harchester United. Kazinsky played Casper Rose from late 2005 to 2006, when he was killed off towards the end of the ninth series, after he announced his intention to leave. Howard played Gavin Moody for 50 episodes in 2005.
Red carpet reunion
Sharing a selfie of the pair on Instagram as they hit the NTAs red carpet, Howard said: "Dream Team reunion with @therobkazinsky on the red carpet @officialntas." Kazinsky then reshared the post and wrote on his own Instagram Story: "Mate, that IS the dream team."
