Claire Sweeney would love to return to Coronation Street
Claire Sweeney has admitted she wants to return to Coronation Street in the future.
Claire Sweeney would "definitely" return to Coronation Street if the opportunity came.
The 55-year-old actress has played Cassie Plummer in the ITV show since 2023, but is bowing out after landing her "dream role" of Miss Hannigan in a touring production of Annie, so she'd jump at the chance to go back to Weatherfield in the future if she was asked to.
She told the Daily Mirror newspaper: “If the stars aligned, I’d definitely come back. Why wouldn’t I?
"Miss Hannigan is my dream role, but I’ve absolutely loved being at Coronation Street too."
Claire has loved all her Corrie storylines but she feels "cheated" not to have become Steve McDonald's (Simon Gregson) eighth wife after her planned proposal was interrupted when he discovered his dad had died.
She laughed: “I feel cheated!
“I’d have loved to have married him. Si is a joy to work with.
"I remember saying to him really excitedly ‘oh God! Imagine if we get married!’ But he just rolled his eyes and said ‘not again.’ I felt really pushed out!”
Claire leaves the show in August but doesn't want a big goodbye.
She said: “I don’t like big goodbyes. I just like to sneak off. I don’t like a party or anything like that. Si Gregson suggested we go for a drink, but I just want to have lunch with everyone in the canteen.
“But I’ll be stalking Si and I’ll stay in touch with Kate Ford (Tracy Barlow) and the girls I share a dressing room with – Sue Devaney (Debbie Webster) and Jane Hazlegrove (Bernie Winter), who I adore."
The actress' exit is linked with the arrival of Ross (Ian Burfield), the biological father of her son Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall), who it emerges is a former client from her days as a drug-addicted teenage prostitute.
And Claire thinks she's bowing out in a "fantastic" way.
She said: “She’d finally got the stability and the family life she’d been craving. And Ross comes in and he totally turns her son’s head. It took her long enough to be accepted. She knows that Ross is a wrong ‘un and she knows the impact he will have, not only on her and her security, but also on everyone around her. She knows what he’s about. He’s dangerous, but people don’t see it, because he’s very good at covering it up.
“She’s in love with Steve McDonald and Ross is opening a can of worms that she doesn’t want Steve, Tyrone or anyone on the cobbles knowing about. She’s started to be liked and to be accepted, so it’s really sad. But it’s the most fantastic exit storyline, I couldn’t have wished for more.”
