“She’s just genuinely enjoying helping and then she’s also kind of enjoying the banter with Steve. That comes into play as well. Simon [Gregson] and I were talking about it and they are like young kids in the playground.

“[It’s like] when the boy you fancy comes up and annoys you and runs away, that’s what it is – it’s as basic as that. Classic rom-com stuff and it will be interesting to see that develop. For a gag to wind her up he even tells her she has to cut Ken’s toenails!

“We saw the spark between them [Cassie and Steve] at the speed dating and it didn’t get off the ground, but they are good for each other. They are similar ages so they like the same things.

“Even in real life Simon and I sit and chat so much because we like the same movies and know all the same songs, there is familiarity in coming from the same era.”

ITV

Sweeney, who has also appeared on Brookside and Strictly Come Dancing, also spoke about her role on Corrie in a wider sense, with Cassie now interacting with the Barlows after her initial storylines with the Dobbs family.

“I have to say I was very nervous,” she remarked. “I’ve been in the show for a year now and I’ve got used to that family and group of actors. I was very comfortable with Maureen [Lipman], Alan [Halsall] and Jennie [McAlpine] – [then] suddenly I went into the Barlows.”

Sweeney went on to reveal a “classic moment” for her where she “had to do a birthday party scene for Steve with Rita [Tanner] and Ken”, recalling: “I’m a fan of the show and suddenly I was doing a scene with these two legendary actors.

“As I’ve got older, I’ve had great moments in my life, in my career, but sometimes I’ve just not stopped and appreciated them,” the star continued.

“I’ve been just working and looking ahead and that day in the Barlows I stopped and appreciated that moment and when I left the set I gave myself a couple of pinches.”

Sweeney also admitted “a real moment” for her was putting on Deirdre’s original glasses, with her character not realising the significance of them.

“But as Claire, I held these glasses and they like a little piece of history,” she added.