The Emmerdale siblings fans are ‘only just realising’ are twins in real life – but did you spot the resemblance?
There are a number of real life siblings in soap land such as EastEnders‘ Joe and Shana Swash, Isabella, Emmerdale‘s Amelia and William Flanagan and Hollyoaks‘ Nick and John Pickard.
But did you know that Emmerdale Cathy and Heath Hope stars Gabrielle and Sebastian are not only siblings on the ITV soap, but they are also twins in real life too?
The pair took on the roles as babies in 2007.
And they have been on the show ever since.
The two were supposed to appear in the Dales when Bob (Tony Audenshaw) and Vic Hope (Deena Payne) welcomed the twins into the world on Feb 9, a whopping 18 years ago.
But Sebastian had to stay in hospital after they were born, so they Cathy and Heath were actually played by Ella Whitehouse Downes and Lilith Kitching for a little while, until they took over.
The Emmerdale siblings fans are ‘only just realising’ are twins in real life – but did you spot the resemblance?
But did you know that Emmerdale Cathy and Heath Hope stars Gabrielle and Sebastian are not only siblings on the ITV soap, but they are also twins in real life too?
The pair’s mum spoke to The Examiner about how they managed to make the scenes work with such young children.
Louise explained: ‘They sometimes want them to cry, which can be difficult because they don’t really cry much unless they’re hungry.’
This meant that they had to stop giving them their bottle midway through a feed.
She said: ‘It’s only for a few seconds while they film…
‘I’m chilled out about it.’
By Valentines Day that year Sebastian and Gabrielle took over.
Sadly Sebastian’s character Heath d.i.e.d on 31 December 2023.
He last appeared on the ITV soap on January 1 2024.
Gabrielle and Sebastian Dowling as Cathy and Heath (centre) on the ITV soap back in 2018
Cathy, Heath and Angelica King (Rebecca Bakes) all got into Wendy Posner’s car on New Year’s Eve and Cathy ended up crashing the vehicle.
Shortly after his final episode, Sebastian took to Instagram to share some snaps from his final few days on the soap.
He captioned the post: ‘Thanks to everyone @emmerdale for such a fun time filming over the 17 years.’
While Sebastian has stepped away from Emmerdale for good, it appears that Gabrielle has also decided to as well for a short stint.
Just last week it was revealed that she was going to take a break from the soap after 18 years on our screens.
A source told The Sun: ‘Gabrielle has been working solidly on the show for her entire life but with her A levels coming up thought it was best to take a break to focus on them.
‘She will be gone for a matter of months and will return later in the year once exam season is over.
‘Her exit storyline is being kept quiet until it plays out on screen but it’s only going to be a temporary one.’
Gabrielle and Sebastian at the The RadioTimes.com Soap Awards at The Midland Hotel in Manchester last year
MailOnline contacted Emmerdale at the time for comment.
Speaking about her time on the ITV show, Gabrielle previously told ITV: ‘I’ve enjoyed having the opportunity to build the role that I’ve grown up with and develop the character of Cathy whilst learning from experienced actors and directors.
‘I’ve been in the soap since I was four weeks old so it’s second nature to me.
‘It’s one big family, everyone gets on and it’s a great atmosphere to work in.’
Emmerdale airs on ITV.
