Coronation Street fans left gobsmacked after discovering age gap between Audrey and Gail

Fans can’t believe the difference in age between Coronation Street stars Sue Nicholls and Helen Worth.

Go on – take a guess, what is the age difference?

The pair have worked together on the cobbles for nearly 50 years now, having joined the popular kitchen-sink soap as Audrey Roberts and Gail Platt back in the 1970s.

Over the years, Gail and Audrey have had their ups and downs – mostly downs, given that this is a soap after all – and have often found themselves at odds with one another.

However, one thing that all Gail and Audrey fans can agree on is that they both look great for their age.

But, what is their age gap?

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Well, there’s actually only a seven-year age gap between the pair, even though they play mother and daughter.

Nicholls is 79 while Worth is 72, meaning that their characters’ age doesn’t quite match up in the context of the show.

A while back, one Corrie detective tweeted: "Helen Worth is 71 [at the time], born January 1951 Sue Nicholls is 79, born November 1943,

“Therefore Audrey gave birth to Gail when she was seven years old... scandalous! #Corrie".

It certainly would be if it happened outside of the telly-box.

While another person said: “They both look amazing.”

And a third comment read: "Mad thing now is Gail and Audrey look about the same age #Corrie.”

Well, in the grand scheme of things, they aren’t actually that different in age, are they?

Helen is set to celebrate her 50^th anniversary on the show next year, and remains the second-longest serving cast member, having taken to the famous Weatherfield cobbles first in 1974.

Again, that’s nothing compared to William Roache, who has played the iconic Ken Barlow since the very first episode aired on December 9, 1960.

That’s 63 years this December, and not a record that is likely to be beaten any time soon.

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Helen has had a number of high-profile storylines on the show, including a load of different marriages.

She even received an MBE – in real life, this time – from Prince William earlier in 2023.

At the time, many joked that he looked exactly as made-up to be meeting her as she did for him.

As Audrey, Nicholls has also had her fair share of grief in fictional Manchester, even recently being the centre of a storyline about suicide.

When a scene that showed her attempting to take her own life aired, Sue said: "Now that is the message that I want people to take away from this storyline, the importance of being able to talk to people you trust about how you feel.

"Sometimes the young generation might think that anyone over 70 isn’t capable of making decisions which in turn can make older people lose their sense of purpose and begin to feel quite useless."