Coronation Street's John Thomson has confessed he's on the hunt for romance following a "tough" break-up, but his attempts to join a celebrity dating app have been thwarted.
The 55 year old actor is fondly remembered by fans as Jesse Chadwick from the ITV soap. He first graced the cobbles in December 2008 and became a regular face the next year.
During his time on the show, he was romantically linked with Corrie stalwart Eileen Grimshaw (played by Sue Cleaver) and her sister Julie Carp (portrayed by Katy Cavanagh).
Jesse bid farewell to Weatherfield in 2010, only to make a surprise comeback in October last year as part of Gail Platt's (Helen Worth) exit storyline.
It transpired that Jesse had sparked a holiday fling with Gail years ago and returned to Weatherfield hoping to rekindle their romance, reports Leicestershire Live.
Their love story quickly reignited, culminating in a Christmas Day wedding before Gail departed the cobbles after half a century.
However, off-screen, John has been candid about his own romantic struggles. Having been single for the past year following the end of a five-year relationship, the soap star is ready to dip his toes back into the dating pool.
"I'm recently single, last year. I've been a year single. It's hard, really tough. We move on. It was five years that relationship so it took it out of me," he revealed on the We're Not Getting Any Younger podcast.
John disclosed: "I've given it a year so I'm single and just about ready to mingle. Five years is a long time." The actor's previous marriage was to Samantha Sharp, with whom he tied the knot in 2005 and parted ways in 2015, and together they have two daughters.
He also shared his struggles with getting onto the exclusive celebrity dating app Raya, saying that despite his efforts, he hasn't been successful.
John confessed: "I would go on a dating app, but Raya won't have me. You know it's celebs date celebs, they won't go near me."
He continued, expressing his frustration: "I'm on a waiting list, I've got 15 referrals and they still won't have me. I'd like to date people in the industry."
Coronation Street airs Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX
English (United States) ·