Claire Sweeney has shared her delight after announcing she is joining the cast of Coronation Street.
The former Brookside star, 52, has been cast in the role of Tyrone Dobbs’ biological mum, Cassie, and says it’s better than landing a part in a Hollywood movie.
Speaking about joining the long-running ITV soap in a press release, she said: “Even though I’ve been lucky enough to have enjoyed an amazingly varied career for nearly 40 years, being cast in Coronation Street is, to me, better than being cast in a Hollywood movie!
“I’ve watched it all my life and can’t quite believe that I’ll now be stepping onto those famous cobbles myself. I was really nervous when I got the scripts to audition as this show means so much to me and my family, and this is Corrie gold. I was beyond thrilled and very grateful when I got the call that Iain MacLeod is trusting me to play Tyrone’s Mum and work alongside one of my heroes, Dame Maureen Lipman.
“Cassie is a character who is definitely going to make an impact – I just hope the audience will enjoy watching her as much as I’m going to be enjoying playing her!”
The Liverpudlian actress is due to begin filming on set in Manchester next week with her on-screen debut broadcast on ITV on June 28.
As long-time Corrie fans will know, mechanic Tyrone, played by Alan Halsall, was brought up to believe that Jackie Dobbs was his mum – but in 2018 he met his grandmother, Evelyn Plummer (played by Dame Maureen Lipman), who told him her daughter Cassie was actually his real mum and had abandoned him at a police station in 1982 due to a drug habit. Evelyn also told Tyrone that his biological mum was dead.
He will soon discover however that Evelyn wasn’t telling the whole truth.
Coronation Street Producer Iain MacLeod added: “Claire bowled us over in her audition and the scenes with her, Tyrone and Evelyn will be electric. Her arrival will mark the start of a tumultuous time for Tyrone and the family, and her impact will be felt across the street in the weeks and months that follow.”
