‘Coronation Street’ stars are reportedly fighting with bosses over their salaries.
Youngsters on the ITV soap have been left reeling after discovering veteran stars are being paid up to six times as much for their role on the cobbles.
It is thought newcomers receive around £40,000 a year to appear on the show, while actors including Kym Marsh, Bill Roache and Michael Le Vell are on an estimated £100,000 with even bigger stars raking in around £250,000 per year.
However, show bosses are said to be unconcerned with their complaints as they know there are countless actors who would jump at the chance to replace them.
A source told The Sun newspaper: "The kids are on pittance compared with the older stars, and do a lot more episodes.
"Bosses don’t care because they know there’s plenty of other young kids eager to join. There is a lot of unhappiness.
"The show also recently introduced a system to dock the wages of people who bring the show into disrepute, causing a lot of ill-feeling."
The pay gap may even be responsible for recent departures from the soap – which include Michelle Keegan, Charlie Condou and Chris Gascoyne – as stars are becoming aware they can earn more money elsewhere.
The source said: "The new stars are trapped on contracts that mean they will never earn the big money and yet are prevented from boosting their income in different ways.
"They are allowed to do personal appearances in clubs or shops but can’t be the face of a make-up or clothes range.
"The soap doesn’t pay the wages to make people want to stay for life. More experienced actors know they can earn the same doing other things, while working about half as hard."
Corrie stars fight over pay
