Coronation Street star Ryan Russell has played the role of Michael Bailey since 2019 and has been caught up in a number of huge storylines.

Just this week, Michael landed in jail after his gambling addict father Ed Bailey bet all of his money on a horse. The risky bet ended up winning and Ed went to stash his winnings in a bag at home in a bid to hide it from Micheal and his daughter Dee-Dee Bailey.

However, unaware of what was in the bag, Michael picked it up on his way to Underworld to try and win his job back but was stunned when DS Swain arrived to question him about the money that was stolen. After answering her questions, Michael was shocked to open his bag and find a huge amount of cash, with his father still not admitting the truth.

As we watch the lies and deceit from his father unfold, which ultimately leaves his son heading for jail, we take a look at Ryan's life off screen, which is thankfully miles away from the trouble on the cobbles…

Who is Ryan?

Ryan Russell was born in 1991, which would make him 32 years old. He studied Performance at the University of Salford and was just a child when he first appeared on CBeebies in 2003, but went on to land a full-time presenting role in 2017 to 2019.

He certainly made a name for himself in children's entertainment having also appeared on The CBeebies House Show and in their pantomime of Thumbelina. He was also one of the kids in World of Colours and has dabbled in stage performances including in It's a Wonderful Life and Cassio, as well as appearing in adverts for Superdrug and WeBuyAnyCar.com

The soap star joined Coronation Street in 2019 and has since risen to fame with some hard-hitting storylines as Michael Bailey. One memorable Corrie plot involved Michael dealing with racism in the police.

During an interview with Digital Spy, the actor stressed the importance of addressing these issues on the ITV soap. Ryan said: "It is important because these things do happen. I watched Jermaine Jenas’s documentary, The Truth About Police Stop & Search, and it was shocking to find out that some people have been stopped 20 times during a regular day.

"It affects people’s mental health. Statistics show that the police tactic stop and search is biased towards Black people so it is something to have a conversation about and see how this can be changed and improved."

CBeebies ex

In May this year, it was announced that Ryan had split from his girlfriend of three years, Evie Pickerill who is a presenter for CBeebies. While it wasn't confirmed when exactly they parted ways, Evie appeared to have moved on and went Instagram official with her new man.

Meanwhile, Ryan is reportedly dating Sasha Tesoro who is a model and has only shared a rare few glimpses of his new girlfriend. In July this year, the actor took to Instagram to share a handle of snaps from a lavish getaway.

Here, he posted two photos of his beau, although her identity was kept out of the spotlight with the pair eager to keep their relationship off the radar. Sasha also shared some snaps from their trip along with a sped-up video with highlights from the trip, showing a rare glimpse of Ryan.

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