Coronation Street fans stunned as Tommy Orpington star reveals real life brother was a major villain in ITV soap

CORONATION Street fans have been left stunned to discover that Tommy Orpington actor Matt Milburn has a real-life soap villain brother.

Former footballer 'Tommy O' is back on the Cobbles after a series of fleeting appearances over the years as the Weatherfield County legend.

Although as the New Year kicked off, it was clear that things had taken quite a dramatic turn for the sporting star.

Fans of the ITV soap opera know that the one-time football legend is now working as a painter and decorator and is heading up the current transformations at number 1 - the home of Steve and Tracy.

With a steamy affair on the horizon between Tommy and Tracy, actress Kate Ford has already teased the details on their sizzling on-screen romance.

Although this isn't actor Matt's first rodeo on the show, he already has some connections to the Cobbles that are rather close to home.

Matt's brother, Greg Wood, is a seasoned soap star and held a role as a legendary villain, the evil loan shark, Rick Neelan.

Rick was most remembered for his long-running feud with Gary Windass, his dodgy dealings and meeting an untimely end at the hands of Gary.

Matt has now revealed how it was Greg that inspired him to take up acting after years of feeling unsure what to do with his career.

Speaking to the TV Times, Matt said: “Watching my brother in his first college play ignited my fire for it [acting].

“Seeing the adrenaline surge through him afterwards, I thought: ‘I’d love to give that a go.’ But I just never did.

“I struggled from my late teens to early 20s to pin down exactly what I wanted to do. I did a BTEC in Sports Science as I thought I wanted to be a PE teacher."

He then went on to add: "Then I did A-Levels, and was about to do sports journalism at university when my first opportunity to act came along.

“Greg was due to film a play for his mates at university, but he got a part in Brookside [as Terry Gibson], so he put my name forward without telling me. It was called Dealer’s Choice by Patrick Marber – it’s about poker.”

Revealing that things picked up from there, Matt was soon poached for his first soap role in Channel 4's Hollyoaks as Joe Spencer.

Matt recalled: “We filmed it in the basement at night, and it was the best buzz! About three weeks after that, I got an audition for Hollyoaks – it was like my university."