Claire Sweeney joins the cast of Coronation Street to play Tyrone Dobb’ mum Cassie

Claire Sweeney joins the cast of Coronation Street! Scouse actress admits she is ‘beyond thrilled’ to land the role of Tyrone Dobbs’ mum Cassie in the ITV soap

  • Claire starts filming next week and her first appearance will air on June 28th 

Claire Sweeney is to join the cast of Coronation Street.

The Brookside icon and West End star Claire will take on the role of Cassie, the mother of Weatherfield mechanic Tyrone Dobbs.

The Scouse actress, 52, has admitted that she is ‘beyond thrilled and very grateful’ to land the role in the ITV soap. 

Claire starts filming next week and her first appearance will air on June 28th. 

Speaking about joining Coronation Street, Claire 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!

Off to the cobbles! Claire Sweeney, 52, is to join the cast of Coronation Street 

New character: The Brookside icon and West End star Claire will take on the role of Cassie, the mother of Weatherfield mechanic Tyrone Dobbs

New character: The Brookside icon and West End star Claire will take on the role of Cassie, the mother of Weatherfield mechanic Tyrone Dobbs

‘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!’ 

Tyrone, (Alan Halsall) has been told by his grandmother Evelyn Plummer (Dame Maureen Lipman) 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.

Tyrone 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 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.

Exciting! 'I've watched it all my life and can't quite believe that I'll now be stepping onto those famous cobbles myself' admitted Claire

Exciting! ‘I’ve watched it all my life and can’t quite believe that I’ll now be stepping onto those famous cobbles myself’ admitted Claire

Coronation Street Producer 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.’ 

Liverpool born Claire was 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 forge a hugely successful stage career which includes playing Roxy Hart in Chicago in the West End.

She also starred in the world tour of the musical revue Fosse and took 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.

She was Paulette in the first UK tour of Legally Blonde; The Musical and Velma Von-Tussle in the UK tour of Hairspray and most recently led the cast of Dolly Parton’s musical 9to5 as Violet.

Her television credits also include Benidorm, Scarborough, Candy Candy Cabs and Clocking Off.

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.

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