Hollyoaks’ Isabelle Smith has spoken to Inside Soap about her real-life friendship with one of Coronation Street’s most popular stars.
Sydney Martin landed on the Street back in June last year, as rebellious teenager Betsy Swain. Since her arrival, Betsy has played a central role in some of Corrie’s most explosive plots, from Mason’s shock murder to Rob’s final showdown.
The character’s close yet complex relationship with Carla Connor, her mum Lisa’s girlfriend, has also won the actor plenty of praise from soap fans.
Hollyoaks’ Isabelle, who plays Frankie, has revealed that she’s been a close friend and fan of Sydney’s ever since they met as students in Manchester.
“We’ve known each other for about five years,” Isabelle exclusively revealed to us. “We met at drama school; we lived together and have been inseparable ever since.
“We follow each other’s character journeys on TikTok. She’s absolutely brilliant, and I’m so proud of her. We’ll FaceTime and say, ‘You’ll never guess what’s happening to my character,’ ‘Wait until you hear what’s happening to me!'”
With both characters in their formative teenage years, Isabelle and Sydney have found themselves at the centre of hard-hitting storylines in their respective shows.
Isabelle is currently playing out a harrowing plot in which Frankie has fallen victim to an exploitation ring, while Sydney is portraying Betsy’s recovery from a traumatic gun shot wound.
However, the pair share more in common than just the fictional roles they play on screen.
Away from set, Isabelle and Sydney have taken huge life steps in tandem with one another – even when it comes to their love lives!
“We do everything together,” shared Isabelle. “We broke up with our boyfriends at the same time, got a job on a soap, then got another boyfriend. Just duplicate us – we are literally the same!”
