Many celebrities have appeared in some of the nation’s favourite soaps over the years, but which cameo is favourite amongst viewers?
Loyal fans of Britain’s most beloved soaps will know that several famous faces have landed small cameos over the years, from Coronation Street and Emmerdale to Hollyoaks and EastEnders.
Some might have forgotten that a famous Take That singer appeared in EastEnders, or that a Game of Thrones actress had her big break in Hollyoaks. But can you remember specifically who they were?
New research from online slots site Betway has unveiled the forgotten cameos in British soaps from stars who have since gone on to bigger things, and it’s a close call who makes it to first place.
Using a range of metrics – including positive sentiment scores, the number of award nominations, award wins, Instagram followers and IMDb average scores – James Corden has secured the top spot in the rankings.
The Gavin and Stacey star appeared in Hollyoaks in 1998 as a community college janitor until May 1999. During his brief stint, his character Wayne appeared in one hilarious scene when he crashed through a ceiling during a party after he was chasing a rat.
James boasts an impressive score of 82.3 overall, with almost six million Instagram followers and appearing in over 80 television shows and films combined, meaning he comes in first place.
Coming in at second is This Is England star Stephen Graham. Having recently appeared in the Peaky Blinders movie and the Netflix hit Adolescence, Graham joined the cast of Coronation Street in 1999 for several months.
Meanwhile, the legendary Joanna Lumley, best known for her role in Absolutely Fabulous, appeared in Coronation Street in 1973 as Elaine Perkins for eight episodes.
Another icon who made a cameo appearance in EastEnders in 1995 is Robbie Williams. Whilst he was still a member of Take That, Robbie appeared as a man using a telephone in the Queen Vic in episode 1189.
Top 16 forgotten British soap cameos, according to Betway
Star | Soap | Films/TV Shows | Award wins | Award nominations | Reddit comments | Positive sentiment | IMDB average | Instagram followers | Score |
James Corden | Hollyoaks | 87 | 30 | 48 | 15,148 | 53.5 | 6.29 | 5,900,000 | 82.3 |
Stephen Graham | Coronation Street | 138 | 26 | 34 | 4,492 | 56.7 | 7.34 | 858,000 | 81.3 |
Lesley Manville | Emmerdale | 131 | 14 | 57 | 3,005 | 56.4 | 7.15 | 1,902,000 | 80.3 |
Nathalie Emmanuel | Hollyoaks | 40 | 4 | 17 | 7,605 | 54.8 | 7.9 | 5,800,000 | 74.4 |
Robbie Williams | EastEnders | 112 | 7 | 30 | 7,003 | 55.3 | 6.19 | 3,700,000 | 72.8 |
Hugh Bonneville | EastEnders | 163 | 5 | 23 | 3,200 | 55.3 | 7.23 | 284,000 | 71.3 |
Joanna Lumley | Coronation Street | 128 | 8 | 10 | 653 | 56.4 | 6.97 | 1,902,000 | 71.1 |
David Walliams | EastEnders | 132 | 12 | 11 | 383 | 55.0 | 6.6 | 2,000,000 | 68.0 |
Jonny Lee Miller | EastEnders | 61 | 1 | 13 | 1,830 | 55.6 | 7.52 | 235,000 | 65.1 |
Jenna Coleman | Emmerdale | 40 | 3 | 17 | 1,170 | 55.0 | 7.57 | 1,100,000 | 64.7 |
Anna Friel | Emmerdale | 85 | 6 | 10 | 360 | 55.0 | 6.6 | 230,000 | 62.0 |
Amanda Holden | EastEnders | 37 | 0 | 3 | 109 | 55.1 | 6.82 | 2,800,000 | 61.4 |
Michael Ball | Coronation Street | 13 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 54.8 | 8.06 | 147,000 | 60.1 |
Emma Bunton | EastEnders | 45 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 55.2 | 5.88 | 1,600,000 | 58.5 |
Mel B | Emmerdale | 46 | 3 | 7 | 586 | 54.3 | 6.26 | 1,800,000 | 58.4 |
Ross Kemp | Emmerdale | 28 | 4 | 7 | 2,048 | 54.4 | 6.5 | 174,000 | 57.5 |
Notes to editors
Methodology
The study used an index methodology, using the following metrics and sources:
Data collected from IMDb and Reddit on behalf of Betway in May 2026
Film / TV Shows: The number of films and television shows for that celebrity.
IMDb Award Wins: The number of Award wins for that celebrity on IMDb.
IMDb Nominations: The number of Award Nominations for that celebrity on IMDb.
Number of Instagram followers: The number of followers for that celebrity on their Instagram account.
Sentiment scores: Scores measured according to Reddit comments gathered about that celebrity.
