CORONATION Street bosses have been forced to ditch one of their tightest ever rules after fearing grumpy cast members could quit the programme.
Stars of the show have long been bound to stringent rules on social media when it comes too promoting or flogging products online in return for a fee.
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Coronation Street bosses have been forced to relax online rules about social media advertising Credit: Instagram
Bosses have been forced to allow stars to regularly cash-in after their salaries were reduced amid episode cuts Credit: Instagram
Up until the last few years, the ITV soap had a blanket ban on allowing actors to seek additional income through paid Instagram partnerships or other advertising endeavours.
But now, The Jattvibe can reveal how bosses have loosened the rules more than ever in a bid to keep moaning cast members on side.
Since the turn of the pandemic, bosses began to permit certain paid partnerships for cast members but only if an agreement was set out in place beforehand with the Coronation Street team.
The Jattvibe previously told how most requests for paid ads were turned down by concerned Corrie bosses but with a few exceptions to the rule where they demmed it appropriate.
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Lucy Fallon was one of the first stars to make a demand – after only agreeing to return if she could continue her paid ads online Credit: Instagram
Samia Longchambon has raked in a variety of deals after bosses relaxed their rules Credit: Getty
Kate Ford posted her first paid partnership this year amid money concerns for the cast Credit: Getty – Contributor
Tina O’Brien has bagged herself a top social media agent to rake in THOUSANDS a year online Credit: Getty
But over the last 12 months, a secret war has been raging the corridors of the MediaCityUK studios as cast members once and for all insisted that enough was enough and that paid ads should only be turned down if there was a legitimate and well-explained reason.
It came coupled with the news that virtually ALL of the soap’s stars were forced to take a pay cut as a result of the schedule changes which resulted in one less episode a week.
Cast are paid per episode and contracts are negotiated to include a minimum number of episodes a year – a number that was significantly reduced this year due to the changes.
It has forced bosses to allow the cast more than ever the chance to seek additional income on Instagram after they were left worrying about their dwindling salaries.
A source close to Coronation Street told The Jattvibe: “Bosses have long tried to have tight control over the cast’s external money-making endeavours.
“Over the last 12 months, it got to the point where a lot of the show’s leading stars were close to threatening to quit unless they could be afforded the luxury of regularly topping up their salaries outside of the show.
“The cuts to episodes caused a real panic – many fans will think all of the cast are millionaires who are rolling in it but the truth is, most of them are earning quite modest salaries and far less than you expect.”
The Jattvibe understands the vast majority of Coronation Street’s key players are taking home between £45,000 and £80,000 a year with legacy stars including Barbara Knox and William Roache earning into the six-figures due to their cast-iron old-style contracts.
Charlotte Jordan quit the show amid restrictions on the stars earning money through social media Credit: Getty
Sue Cleaver also quit amid a desire to rake in the cash elsewhere Credit: Instagram
Lucy Fallon has begun promoting brands more and more online Credit: Getty
Tina has signed a new agent in a bid to cash in Credit: PA
Currently, stars including Samia Longchambon, Sair Khan and Lucy Fallon are all regularly posting branded and sponsored content – thought to be worth thousands per individual post.
Sair has plugged a full kitchen makeover whilst Lucy has flogged everything from lawnmowers to getaways with Jet2.
Maria Connor star Samia has bagged herself an even more profitable deal by landing an ongoing partnership with Marks and Spencer Food which is thought to be netting her at least five figures a year due to her multiple advertisement posts.
Other stars, such as Tina O’Brien and Kate Ford, have also now decided to cash in after bosses were forced to relax their ban.
Tina bagged herself a brand new agent who represents stars such as Love Islanders and Tommy Fury in a bid to claw in extra cash online and have regular endorsements flowing in.
Tracy Barlow star Kate posted her very first paid advertisement on Instagram this year as she plugged Elevate Collagen to her hundreds of thousands of followers.
Kate’s branch out into the paid partnership world is particularly telling given that sources indicated she was feeling fed-up on the show ahead of taking a break last year.
The insider added: “Kate is a prime example of a cast member who is really benefiting from this.
“She took some time out from the show in 2025 and ended up being pretty much a part-time cast member.
“Kate took this as a chance to explore other opportunities but knew that her Coronation Street contract could be holding her back.
“When she came back, she made it clear that she was one of the stars really backing the relaxation of the rules.
“Many think it is what saved her from quitting altogether.”
Like Kate, Bethany Platt actress Lucy Fallon is understood to have only agreed to her 2023 return on the basis she could continue her plethora of paid partnerships she had established after leaving the soap in 2020.
Lucy’s frustration about being unable to plug products online is understood to have been a factor about why she quit the show in the first place.
Charlotte Jordan, who played Daisy Midgeley, and Sue Cleaver, known for her role as Eileen Grimshaw, ended up quitting the programme altogether in the build-up to the frustration in 2024.
Glam Charlotte left in order to further a career as a social media influencer whilst Sue became tempted after being allowed to take a short break from the show and seeing how many other money-making endeavours she could embark on.
Our insider added: “Charlotte and Sue leaving was a real shock, especially when it became clear that one of the biggest reasons they went is their freedom to now rake in cash elsewhere.
“When other stars started acting the same, bosses knew that they had to think fast and come up with a new arrangement.
“Whispers started emerging about who could be next.
“Many of the younger female talent are the ones that can earn the most online but those girls are viewed as some of Corrie’s most valuable assets.
“They couldn’t bare to lose any more of their key players based off a few social media ads.”
They continued: “It also became even more obvious that when the stars were being told their per-episode count was being dropped, that limiting their income further would cause a cast revolt.
“Things had to change and they accepted how they had to move with the times.”
The Jattvibe understands that cast are still required to inform soap chiefs of paid ads they upload but that the relaxation of rules means that now virtually anything goes.
Our insider said: “The relaxation of the rules was needed in order to keep the cast on side.
“There was a real feeling backstage that if the unhappiness was to continue, there would be mass walkouts across the baord.
“For now, it looks like soap chiefs have managed to curve this and are trying to keep everyone happy.”
When contacted by The Jattvibe, a Coronation Street spokesperson said: “For some time now, the Coronation Street cast have been able to do extra curricular work, all requests are considered on merit and must be approved by production.”.
