Steve McDonald has been on cobbles sine he was a teenager and has enjoyed quite the ride since joining Coronation Street all the way back in 1989

Steve McDonald, a character from Coronation Street, has had quite the journey since his debut on the ITV soap as a 15 year old. Fans might not even recognise him.

Simon Gregson, who was just a teenager himself when he started, has portrayed Steve. He was chosen to play one of Liz and Jim McDonald’s twin sons. Steve spent his early years in army lodgings before moving to Weatherfield in 1989 with his brother Andy.

Steve’s life took a turn for the worse when he was imprisoned for dealing in stolen goods. His first marriage to wealthy Vicky ended in disaster when he tried to pin the crime on her.

Steve then went on to marry Karen Phillips, Becky Granger, Tracy Barlow, and finally Michelle Connor only to reunite with Tracy and then split up with her again. He’s also faced plenty of tragedy, losing his son Oliver when he was just three years old, and welcoming stillborn son Ruairi with Michelle – getting Leanne Battersby pregnant shortly after.

From discovering he had a secret daughter in Emma Brooker to buying the Rovers Return and establishing Street Cars, Steve has been a staple of street life since he was 15 years old. But fans won’t even recognise him in his first ever soap appearance.

In his first year of work, Simon was credited under his real name – which isn’t actually Gregson. He was born Simon Alan Gregory, but later switched to Gregson as a stage name. He adopted the name when he was old enough to join the actors’ union Equity, as there already existed a member under the name Simon Gregory.

Simon landed his Corrie role while still studying at The Kingsway School in Stockport, along with his fellow pupil Nicholas Cochrane, who played his twin brother.

In his early years on the soap, his character Steve rocked a full head of curls – and could be mistaken as a lost member of boyband Take That. Rocking oversized shirts in true nineties style, his youthful appearance was complemented by leather jackets and his cheeky blue eyes.

But in real life, Simon struggled to cope with his newfound fame, admitting of his first experience with the spotlight: “It was really negative – getting beaten up, spat at. It was shocking.”

He told The Mirror back in 2014: “Me and my mates would get dangerously drunk. We were really stupid. I went completely wild. I’d pay for everyone to stay in hotel suites. I’d go through a bottle of Scotch at 4 or 5am after the pub. I was spending all my salary going out or on cars.

“Sometimes I’d be two hours late for work. Other times I’d not be there at all. I didn’t take it seriously and I didn’t want to be there. I hated being famous. I’m not proud of my behaviour, but getting wasted was a way of forgetting.”