Soap stars who ended up behind bars including sick paedophile actor

They were adored by millions for their on-screen personas - but behind the cameras, some familiar faces from Britain's best-loved soaps have found themselves on the wrong side of the law. From EastEnders to Home and Away, Brookside to Coronation Street, these former soap stars have lived out real-life dramas that even the most daring scriptwriters couldn't have dreamed up. Once fixtures of primetime television, they've swapped red carpets for courtrooms and celebrity fanfare for the cold reality of a prison cell.

Some became entangled in shocking scandals that destroyed their careers, while others were convicted of serious crimes that left fans reeling. Fraud, drugs, violence and even cold-blooded murder feature among the charges. These are the soap icons whose off-screen lives took a turn no viewer saw coming.

EastEnders actor Youssef Berouain, 32, who played teen gang member Tayo on the BBC soap, was jailed for eight and a half years in 2024 for killing cricket star Gus Atkinson's mother, Caroline Atkinson, in a horrific 2020 crash.

Driving at double the speed limit through Fulham, southwest London, Berouain smashed into her Uber before fleeing the country. He spent four years on the run in Dubai and the US before being extradited back to the UK to face justice.

" data-has-syndication-rights="1" data-portal-copyright="pa" data-licensor-name="pa" /> Waterloo Road actor Craig Fitzpatrick, 37, who played troublemaker Lewis Seddon, was jailed for 18 months in 2020 after a terrifying machete attack during a drunken "family dispute."

High on drugs and alcohol, Fitzpatrick threatened residents with an 18-inch blade, smashed windows, and told one woman her family "would be dead" if seen again on the estate.

" data-has-syndication-rights="1" data-portal-copyright="bbc" data-licensor-name="bbc" /> Coronation Street actor Chris Hargreaves, 57, who played gangster Carl Foster and several other roles on the ITV soap, was jailed for four and a half years in April 2016 for drug dealing and money laundering.

Police found 3kg of high-grade cannabis and £38,000 in cash at his Salford home, along with £17,000 laundered through his children's bank accounts.

" data-has-syndication-rights="1" data-portal-copyright="Manchester Evening News" data-licensor-name="Manchester Evening News" /> EastEnders star Leslie Grantham, who famously played villain 'Dirty' Den Watts, was a convicted murderer long before his soap stardom.

In 1966, aged 19, he shot and killed taxi driver Felix Reese during a botched robbery while serving in the British Army in Germany. He was sentenced to life imprisonment but released on parole after 10 years.

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