Coronation Street will surely be shocked to learn that before bringing
Bernie Winter’s long-lost son to life as Kit Green, Jacob Roberts had his feet firmly
on the ground with a rather normal gig. The 34-year-old soap star was up
on roofs fitting aerials just three weeks before his grand entrance on the famed cobbles. After waving goodbye to Hollyoaks the year earlier, Jacob was struggling to snap up acting roles.
“It was a low moment,” he shares regretfully. “Eight months previously I was on TV and now I was in the freezing cold rain on top of a roof, fiddling with a TV aerial.”
Jacob describes those chilly times as a stark reality check: “It was winter and I was outside up a ladder in the cold, instead of inside in the warm doing lines it was a total reality check and hard to take.”
Ever the down-to-earth lad, Jacob wasn’t looking for any fuss while tinkering with antennas. “I was dreading anyone recognising me and saying: ‘Weren’t you on Hollyoaks? ‘ I wasn’t being pretentious, but I was there to work and I didn’t want the attention.”, reports The Mirror.
During his teenage years, Jacob seemed destined for the big time when, at the tender age of 17, he bagged a spot in Borstal Boy’s. He wowed critics at Edinburgh Festival and across the pond in New York.
“It was an amazing opportunity; it was just off Broadway and we got good audiences; a lot of people wanted to see it,” he recalls. Nevertheless, his return to Blighty wasn’t followed by the flurry of TV gigs he hoped for, thus leading him back to his roots working as a joiner, as per Mirror’s scoop.
After being made redundant, he poured two years into working with children with disabilities, before turning his hand to being a labourer and aerial fitter.
It was only at 27 that he nabbed his debut TV gig as Hollyoaks’ Damon Kinsella, where he stuck around for a solid six years.
Mulling over his career path, he spilled: “It took me a long time to get my break,” and shared, “It was 10 years. I was up for parts in Hollyoaks about five times before I finally got it.”
He remembers feeling the heat to pack on muscle for auditions back in the day, when the show flaunted its famous ‘Hunks of Hollyoaks’ calendars: “I had to get a bit bigger. I was quite a skinny kid,” he confessed.
“Back in the day Hollyoaks was that kind of show and it was more about what you looked like than your acting! I was up for Emmerdale a fair few times too.”
Yet, despite various rejections, the plucky Salford actot never let go of his dream. “Rejection is hard to take, but I didn’t let it affect my passion to act, that was always there,” he declared.
“I always wanted to be on TV and I never thought I wouldn’t get to do it, because I do have confidence in myself.”
Post-Hollyoaks, he hit up numerous acting workshops, honing his craft non-stop: “When I left Hollyoaks, I attended various acting workshops and was constantly learning,” he disclosed. His grafting got him noticed and led to an audition call from Coronation Street last year.
After a couple of auditions spanning two months, he landed the role of Kit. “I immediately bought a bottle of champagne and went to celebrate with my mum,” he fondly remembers. His mum, a massive Corrie fan, was over the moon.
Viewers have quickly noticed that Kit isn’t hesitant about abusing his police power for personal benefit in recent episodes. Without batting an eye, he saved Gemma from a theft accusation by intimidating the shop owner and cleverly planted evidence on Nathan Curtis to frame him for a suspected murder.
However, this week’s episodes reveal Kit’s boldest move yet as he sets his sights on Beth Tinker, portrayed by Lisa George. Whispers about Lisa’s exit from the soap started making rounds last year following her 13-year run as the outspoken factory worker.
Beth landed herself in trouble when she discovers Kit’s involvement in the sale of counterfeit t-shirts and his share of the illegal profits. In a surprising turn of events, instead of succumbing to her blackmail attempts, Kit turns the tables.
He threatens to ruin her son Craig’s policing career unless Beth packs her bags and leaves Weatherfield for good.
Jacob shares his thoughts on his character’s latest shenanigans: “I like his drive, he’s selfish in that he knows what he wants,” and then recognises Kit’s crafty nature, “If he sees an opportunity he takes it, but he only does things if he’s confident that he will get away with it.”
Kit’s made himself right at home in the Rovers Return on Coronation Street, nabbing Glenda Shuttleworth’s former room and quickly realising that the pub is a goldmine of chatter, perfect for his scheming. But Jacob, who plays Kit, has found shooting scenes in the iconic boozer a tad tricky due to his towering stature.
“I love it, but I’m 6ft 4in so I don’t really fit in the Rovers,” he said with a laugh. “Every time I stand at the bar they have to raise the level of the top of the bar. It feels like they’re making such an effort, just for me to stand in the scene! “.
Jacob also shared that his mum isn’t exactly Kit’s number one fan: “She said to me: ‘you’re a bit of a b*****d, aren’t you? ‘” he recalled with a smirk, “I said: ‘yes Mum, I am! ‘.”
