Actress Claire Sweeney owes her acting career to a stroke of luck and a well-timed letter to Brookside producers. Find out how she landed her iconic role and what's next for her in the world of television.
Claire Sweeney credits her acting career to pure luck after writing to Brookside producers at the perfect moment. The actress, currently starring as Cassie Plummer in Coronation Street, is well-known for her role as Lindsey Corkhill in the iconic Channel 4 soap from 1991 to 2003. However, her breakthrough role could have easily been missed if she hadn't taken matters into her own hands.
'The funny thing was, I was a fan of Brookside,' she revealed while discussing her casting in a recent chat with Michael Galvin, who stars in Shortland Street, set to return to UK screens next week. 'I used to sing on cruise ships, and my Mum used to send me Betamax videos because I was obsessed with Brookside. 'Then I got the role, and they offered me one episode. I'd already accepted a six-month singing contract on a cruise ship, so I did the one episode, but then they asked me to come back, and I said, 'Oh no, I've taken my cruise ship job'. Claire joined the Brookside cast in 1991 (Picture: Mersyside / STV / Channel 4) Claire explained that producers kept asking her to return for single episodes, but her cruise ship commitments prevented her. This led to her writing a letter to the producers four years later. 'I sat and wrote a letter to the producers saying: 'Is that one episode still going? I'd love to come back',' she shared. 'The day Mal Young, our producer, received the letter was the day they were going into a future storyline conference, and he went in and put the letter on the table. A day later, it wouldn't have happened. 'Then suddenly, I was in my favourite soap. My pin-up at the time was a character called Barry Grant - and I was getting to snog him!', she exclaimed. Claire's conversation with Michael will be available in full from Monday, February 17, coinciding with the launch of Shortland Street on STV Player. The beloved soap has aired in various UK television slots over the years, including on several ITV regions in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and had a run on Living in 2010. However, STV Player is the first UK streaming service to offer brand-new episodes simultaneously with New Zealand broadcasts, allowing UK fans to experience all the Shorty drama in real time. Brookside is available on STV Player with five episodes released every Wednesday. Shortland Street arrives on STV Player from Monday, February 17, with three episodes streaming every Monday. If you have a soap opera or television story, video, or pictures, please contact us at [email protected] - we'd love to hear from you. Join our community by leaving a comment below and stay up-to-date on all things soaps on our homepage
CLAIRE SWEENEY BROOKSIDE CORONATION STREET ACTING CAREER SOAP OPERAS SHORTLAND STREET STV PLAYER
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