Coronation Street Dee-Dee star snubbed by Emmerdale after auditioning for iconic role
Channique Sterling-Brown is a firm favourite on Coronation Street as Dee-Dee Bailey - but the actress almost appeared on a completely different soap
Coronation Street favourite Channique Sterling-Brown, who plays Dee-Dee Bailey, almost appeared in a rival soap – but fans have quipped she “dodged a bullet.”
The actress made her cobbles debut in 2022 as the daughter of Ed (played by Trevor Michael Georges) and Aggie (Lorna Laidlaw) Bailey. Since then, she has become a firm favourite with viewers.
However, Dee-Dee has had a dramatic few months recently. She learned the truth about her fiancé Joel Deering (Calum Lill) and that he is responsible for grooming and abusing young girls over the years.
This includes Lauren Bolton (Cait Fitton) who went missing after Joel attacked her and left her for dead. Joel’s true colours have since been revealed and Dee-Dee has vowed to bring him down and put him behind bars.
However, while Channique has become a hit with fans on Corrie, it turns out she previously auditioned for a role on a rival soap. Back in 2023, Channique took part in ITV ’s Big Soap Quiz 2023, along with Jack P. Shepherd (David Platt) and Tony Maudsley (George Shuttleworth).
The Corrie gang battled against the Emmerdale team consisting of Natalie Ann Jamieson (Amy Wyatt), Mark Charnock (Marlon Dingle,) and Kevin Mathurin (Charles Anderson). During the show, host Stephen Mulhern shared that Channique nearly ended up on the rival soap Emmerdale. The actress then confirmed that she did audition once.
She auditioned to play Namoi
According to Channique, she auditioned for the role of Naomi Walters, the daughter of Kevin’s character, Charles. Channique told him: “I could have been your daughter, Kevin.” Fans have been quick to react to the news of Channique’s Emmerdale audition. On a Reddit thread, one person said: “Emmerdale’s loss was definitely Corrie’s gain.”
Someone else added: “So glad tbh, I love her in Corrie.” A third wrote: “She’s wonderful in Corrie so this was the best thing that could’ve happened.” Another penned: “She dodged a bullet there.”
Channique’s stint on Corrie has gone down a treat with fans. In 2023, she bagged the award for Best Newcomer at the British Soap Awards. Talking about her win at the time, Channique told Metro: “I’m very grateful!
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, when you join the cast the same year as Jodie Prenger [who plays Glenda Shuttleworth], I was not expecting to walk away with this! It means a lot to me, I’m very grateful.”