star starred as Faye Windass between 2011 and 2023, before going on to claim the trophy just months after her departure. The on-screen star has a famous family member who many people may not know about. Brooke Vincent enjoyed a 15 year stint on the soap between 2004 and 2019 as Sophie Webster, whose on-screen sister Rosie was played by Helen Flanagan.

For the best part of a decade, Ellie and Brooke both belonged to the same soap, but their little-known connection goes way beyond that. Express can reveal that they are cousins - and Brooke has even shown Ellie how much she means to her by giving her the status of godmother to her beloved five-year-old son Mexx and his little brother Monroe. Ellie has reciprocated the gesture, publicly paying tribute to her cousin on Instagram back in 2022 to celebrate her milestone 30th birthday.

She declared herself Brooke's "mini-me" and hinted that she'd been inspired by her when she followed in her footsteps on Corrie.

"All I've wanted to do since I was younger is be like you. To dress like you, to have my hair the way you have yours, to wear them 7-inch platform heels you wore which I still have no idea how, but most of all to be the kind of person you are," she shared.

"You can tell what type of person someone is by how highly people speak of them, and I've never heard a bad word said about you!"

She added: "I think I'll forever be known as Ellie, Brooke's cousin but I will always be so proud to be that and to have you by my side through life!"

Meanwhile, Brooke revealed that not only had she inspired her cousin to join Corrie, but she'd encouraged her to leave for new adventures when the time was right too.

In conversation with Manchester Evening News, she fondly reflected: "[Ellie's] such a lovely girl and everyone absolutely adores her, so I don't think she'll have any problems at all [after leaving the soap]."

"It's been amazing to watch her and a lot of our years on Corrie were spent together. I say to her all the time, she's in such a lovely position and I just told her to go off travelling for a bit," she explained.

"I said, 'Go travel, go and see the world' because as soon as you grow up, you grow up, don't you, and it's harder to do certain things."