Coronation Street fans are set to be introduced to Tyrone Dobbs' real mum for the first time as the soap signs up a West End star and Brookside legend. The much-loved mechanic has previously been told by his grandmother Evelyn Plummer that her daughter, and his biological mother, Cassie, is dead.
So when Cassie turns up on the cobbles out of the blue in June, Evelyn is faced with a real dilemma as she has to decide whether to come clean to Tyrone about her lies. And she'll be played in the ITV soap by none other than Claire Sweeney.
First known for her portrayal of Lindsey Corkill in scouse soap Brookside, for which she won Best Dramatic Scene at the British Soap Awards, the actress went on to enjoy a hugely successful stage career which includes playing Roxy Hart in Chicago in the West End, starring in the world tour of the musical revue Fosse and taking on the role of Miss Adelaide in the West End production of Guys and Dolls before touring the UK alongside Patrick Swayze in the same production.
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Alongside her acting career, Claire is also an accomplished presenter who hosted 60 minute makeover as well as BBC One’s Here Comes the Sun and co-hosted ITV’s Chef v Britain with Gino D’Campo as well as co-hosting Loose Women for a number of years.
But back to Corrie and Tyrone, played by Alan Halsall, grew up believing that his mum was Jackie Dobbs, played by Margi Clarke. But in 2018 investigations into his parentage brought him into contact with Evelyn, portrayed by Dame Maureen Lipman, for the first time and he discovered evidence that Evelyn's daughter Cassandra was his biological mother.
Not trusting Cassandra to look after him properly due to her drug habit, Evelyn had abandoned Tyrone at a police station in 1982 where he was found by Jackie who brought him up as her own.
Now Tyrone faces more heartache as secrets and lies from his past threaten to destroy his relationship with his grandma and he has to navigate a new relationship with his mother.
Corrie has revealed that Claire starts filming next week and her first appearance will be on June 28th. Soap boss Iain MacLeod said: “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.”
Claire added of her new gig: "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!"
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