Soap stars a few steps away from Hollywood legends

(Image credit: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

How closely are Emmerdale's Marlon Dingle and Bob Hope linked to Marlon Brando and the real Bob Hope? You may be surprised!

Six degrees of separation is the theory that everyone in the world is six or fewer steps away – through shared connections – from any other person in the world, so that a chain of 'a friend of a friend' statements can be made to link any two people in a maximum of six steps.

The world of acting is much smaller and it's possible to link many of our favourite soap stars with the Hollywood greats – past and present – in only four steps or fewer.

Who'd believe that Mark Charnock, who plays Emmerdale's Marlon Dingle, is only three steps away from late Hollywood megastar Marlon Brando? Or that Tony Audenshaw, who plays the soap's Bob Hope, is again just three steps away from the real Bob Hope?

Here we'll show you how they're linked, as well as EastEnders' Kellie Bright and Marilyn Monroe and Danny Dyer and Humphrey Bogart, plus Coronation Street's Melissa Hill and Audrey Hepburn.