Jack P Shepherd, who has played David Platt on Coronation Street for 26 years, says he would not be upset if producers decided to axe his character. The 38-year-old actor, who joined the soap at age 12, told the Mirror: "It's happened before. If that's the avenue they go down with me, I could handle it." He added: "I can take it. I'm a big boy. If they feel like they need an audience spike or if the story is right, I'd be fine about it. I wouldn't hold any grudges."
Long-Running Role and Career Reflections
Shepherd, from Pudsey, West Yorkshire, became a father for the fourth time weeks ago with wife Hanni Treweek. He acknowledged that while his role on the Manchester-filmed soap is a "brilliant gig," he might struggle to find work if the unexpected happened. "I don't want to walk away from Corrie. It is a great place to work, it really is. It's easy. I live in Manchester, so it's on my doorstep. I know everybody there. You could come out and get a great drama… But then you're looking for the next gig."
Memorable Storylines and Awards
Shepherd's two-decade stint has included some of the soap's most dramatic plots, such as the infamous Richard Hillman killer storyline when he was a teen, and in 2018, winning Best Actor for a storyline depicting David being raped by his friend Josh Tucker—the first portrayal of male rape on the show. "With Corrie, if you're contracted and in good storylines, it's great. As long as I get the work, I'll stay. I do year-long contracts. Every December, I sign again if they ask me. Luckily for the past 26 years, they have asked me."
Life on the Cobbles and Mentoring Newcomers
Reflecting on nearly three decades on the cobbles, Shepherd said: "I suppose I'm one of the legends. People think I've been in the show longer than I actually have. They've grown up with me, it's nice. I still feel like one of the young ones—there are about 10 or 15 people ahead of me!" He enjoys mentoring new cast members, noting: "It can be daunting when they first start. I've been there. You're sitting in the green room and there's Rita and Ken… they're people you feel like you've known all your life, even though you don't actually know them. It can be scary."
Pace of Filming and Future Aspirations
Shepherd has been involved in three live episodes of Coronation Street and would welcome another. He highlighted the demanding pace of the show: "You have to be able to handle the pace and speed of the filming. People come in who have done films and dramas who say, 'S***, I didn't know how fast Corrie would be to film.' You might rehearse once, then you film and that's it, done. To make it look as good as it does on screen is not easy. There's such a fast turnaround. On a drama they do two to four pages in a day. On Corrie we do 30. Corrie is a massive machine. If you can keep to that pace, you learn a hell of a lot. At the end of a big storyline, you're either drained or you can deal with it."
Personal Life and Future Plans
Shepherd, who recently had his third hair transplant, became a father again when wife Hanni gave birth to daughter Constance Ita on June 26 in a home birth, seven months after their wedding at Manchester Cathedral. Looking ahead, Shepherd said if he ever left Corrie, he would love to work with Russell T Davies, creator of It's a Sin: "I'm a big fan. If there was ever an option to work with him, that would be lovely. If Russell wrote something, came to me and said, 'You're the guy that I want to play this' then I'd have conversations to see if I'd be able to do it. But that's never happened and it probably never will!"
