Claire Sweeney 'sobbed' over Coronation Street exit
Soap star Claire Sweeney has reflected on her recent exit from Coronation Street.
Claire Sweeney "sobbed" before shooting her final Coronation Street scenes.
The 55-year-old actress has played Cassie Plummer on the ITV soap since 2023 - but she's walking away from Coronation Street to play Miss Hannigan in a UK theatre tour of Annie.
Claire told The Sun newspaper: "Saying goodbye to Hope and Ruby, I sobbed. The tears were real.
"At one point, the director even asked me to hold back a bit because it looked like I was having a breakdown.
"The children started crying too."
Claire is semi-reluctantly leaving the soap, explaining that the Annie tour represents a dream opportunity for her and one she simply cannot pass up.
The actress said: "I only left because a project I’ve been working toward for 15 years finally came to fruition, and I simply couldn’t turn it down."
Claire previously likened her Coronation Street exit to a relationship break-up.
The soap star admitted that it would be hard to walk away from the cobbles.
She told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "You’re part of a family at Coronation Street, you feel safe and protected and leaving is like stepping out into the big, wide world again.
“It feels like I’ve broken up with a boyfriend I’m still in love with. I’ve loved Corrie and leaving bears no reflection on the job, the people and the work.
“It was just that my phone pinged and it was the producer of Annie saying ‘right, do you want to do Miss Hannigan.’ I’d been hounding him for years for this part and I just thought – ‘if I don’t do it now, it might never come again.’ But I think it’s the hardest job I’ve ever had to leave and my exit is very sad; I had a little weep over my leaving scenes. I got quite emotional.”
Despite this, Claire is thrilled that she'll be exiting the show in dramatic circumstances, admitting she "couldn’t have wished for more".
The actress - who first rose to prominence as a cast member on Brookside - said: "It’s the most fantastic exit storyline, I couldn’t have wished for more."
