Things have been hotting up for Tina O'Brien on-screen as her character was seen continuing her affair with Coronation Street's newest bad boy. The actress is best known for playing Sarah Barlow - nee Platt - in the ITV soap, but didn't join until the daughter of matriarch Gail Platt turned 12.
The character was originally portrayed by then-babies Leah King and Lynsay King in 1987, when Sarah was born to Gail Platt and Brian Tilsley. Sarah and her older brother Nick were later adopted by Martin Platt when he married Gail in 1991. Lynsay was kept in the role until Sarah turned 12 on-screen in 1999, which is when Tina, then 16, joined the cast.
And, over the years she has faced a whole host of hard-hitting storylines - from giving birth to her first child, Bethany, at 13 and being kidnapped alongside her family by her psychotic stepfather Richard Hillman; to suffering child loss when her son, Billy, died shortly after his birth, to being attacked by Callum Logan and witnessing him be killed by sister-in-law Kylie.
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Now, despite supposedly being happily married to Adam Barlow, Sarah has found her head being turned by Damon Hay. The pair, who have been flirting and frolicking behind her husband's back for weeks, met weeks ago in a hotel bar. But Sarah and Damon, played by Ciaran Griffiths, have continued to flirt wildly, with Damon saying he was determined to bed her.
And, it wasn't long before Damon seized his opportunity and gave Underworld factory manager Sarah a lift to the hotel for a meeting. Later, after he helped her win over the buyer she was meeting, Sarah claimed to be furious with Damon. But, after drinking champagne together, she threw caution to the wind and they slept together.
Afterwards, a guilty Sarah told Damon they needed to end their relationship, especially because he looked set to go to prison. But her solicitor husband helped Damon walk free - and he hasn't let his feelings for Sarah slide.
There was then a close call earlier this week, when they were nearly caught by Adam, brother Nick Tilsley, his partner Leanne Battersby and her friend Dee-Dee Bailey, who works with solicitor Adam, as they romped in the office at the Bistro. But, as Sarah hid, Damon got them out of the predicament by telling their unexpected visitors that they had to evacuate the bistro.
Luckily for Tina, things in her own life are very different to that of Sarah's. Sarah's long stint in Weatherfield has meant that viewers have also seen the Rusholme-born actress grow up on-screen. But it wasn't on Corrie where her career started.
Before Tina scooped the role of Sarah Platt in Corrie more than 20 years ago, she played the role of Claire in CITV favourite Children's Ward in 1997. She then joined the Salford-based soap in 1999 and her character was part of a shock pregnancy storyline at the age of 12, after which she gave birth to daughter Bethany.
Tina, now 39, left the role in 2008 and, speaking of her reason for her quitting at the time, she said: "This has been an extremely difficult decision to make. I love playing Sarah and have had an amazing seven-and-a-half years in Coronation Street, but I feel that the time has come to see what else is out there for me as an actress."
She went on to star in other shows, most notably as pupil Bex Fisher in the BBC One school-based drama series Waterloo Road. She also appeared in Casualty, Doctors, Blue Murder and Clocking Off before returning to Corrie in 2015, where she still appears now. She told The Mirror in 2021: "I think I got a three month contract to begin with and I was just hoping to get through the first three months here and hopefully stay. I feel incredibly lucky to be where I am and be part of such an amazing family."
Away from the cobbles, Tina was in a relationship with co-star Ryan Thomas, who played on-screen former hubby Jason Grimshaw, from 2003 to 2009. They became an item just after Tina ended a year-long romance with Bruno Langley, who played Ryan's on-screen brother Todd in Corrie before being replaced.
Speaking to The Mirror in 2007, Tina said: "It was five months later when I got together with Ryan and I was worried about it as he's a friend of Bruno. But we worked hard to make sure there wasn't any tension between the three of us." Tina and Ryan enjoyed a long-term romance off-screen, dating for six years. They also had a daughter named Scarlett before they split in 2009.
Scarlett has followed in her parents acting footsteps. It was announced last year that the now-14-year-old would be joining the brand new reboot of Waterloo Road alongside her real-life uncle Adam Thomas and cousin Teddy Thomas. While Adam reprised the role of Donte Charles, Scarlett and Teddy took on the roles of his on-screen children Izzy and Tommy.
Tina has since moved on from Ryan and is now married to Adam Crofts,. The couple married on New Year's Eve 2018 at the uber-luxurious King Street Townhouse in Manchester after welcoming their now-eight-year-old son Beau into the world four years earlier.
And, earlier this year, Tina showed she is more loved-up than ever as she shared a gushing tribute to her husband on social media. The mum-of-two shared a bunch of photos and videos of Adam, some on his own and some of them together. It showed them when they got married, on holiday, and on nights out together.
There were also plenty of appearances from Scarlett and Beau from when they were younger to now, including on a trip to Disney. "I love this incredible human so much, Mr Adam Crofts," Tina gushed. The 39-year-old then added: "It’s not his birthday or our wedding anniversary. Just cos."
While viewers have watched Tina grow up on-screen, it won't be long until fans will see her celebrate another milestone- turning 40! Last month, the soap shared some new headshots of herself which showed off her natural and ageless beauty. "I'm turning 40 this year," she started the caption of her post. "Decided its time to update my seriously outdated headshots for Spotlight. A massive thank you to @neilson_photo_actors I’m absolutely over the moon with them."
And, it wasn't long before the mum-of-two was being flooded with compliments from her co-stars, friends and fans with many in disbelief over her age. Former Corrie star Brooke Vincent said: "Still look 21," while Catherine Tyldesley wrote: "Babe!!! 40?!?! You still look 13!!! [crying laughing emojis] gorgeous xxxxx."
And, with a long stint on the cobbles under her belt, Tina has plenty of links to her current and former co-stars. Tina is the real-life godmother of Emily Walton, who played the original Bethany Platt. Emily played Sarah's on-screen daughter from 2000 until 2007 before the role was taken over by Lucy Fallon in 2015.
Back in March, Corrie fans recalled how Tina and co-star Ciaran Griffiths appeared in Waterloo Road together back in 2011, when Tina starred as Rebecca "Bex" Fisher and Ciaran played porn-obsessed Dylan. He forced Bex to live with him for 18 months, made films of her and posted them on a porn website before she eventually went back home. But, because Dylan couldn't have Bex, he went after her sister Jess Fisher.
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