Coronation Street star Claire Sweeney has shared what soap legend William Roache told her when she admitted her nerves when filming with him on his 92nd birthday.
As viewers of the ITV soap have recently seen, Ken Barlow has been of concern to his family after he fell down the stairs and fractured his pelvis. Steve McDonald, Amy Barlow and Daniel Osbourne were left having to discuss care package options for the Barlow patriarch and wondered how on earth they were going to fund it.
But unbeknownst to them, Cassie Plummer was listening with interest and offered to be Ken’s carer for a quarter the price of a professional. Daniel and Amy reckoned it was a good idea and Steve reluctantly agreed, leaving Cassie thrilled. However, the family agreed to not let Ken know that Cassie isn’t qualified.
During Wednesday night’s (June 19) trip to Weatherfield, fans saw Cassie start her new job, after being sacked as the receptionist at the garage, but things quickly became awkward when Cassie poked fun of Ken’s late wife, and soap legend, Deirdre Barlow after finding her iconic glasses in the drawer.
Later, Ken ended up apologising to Cassie for his reaction to finding out she wasn’t a qualified career and the pair were soon sitting enjoying a laugh and a brew.
And Claire has now revealed that she had to confess to co-star Bill – who has played Ken since the soap opera’s very first episode in December 1960 – that she was feeling “nervous” standing alongside him on set.
She told Woman’s Weekly: “He’s iconic. ‘I filmed a scene with him on his 92nd birthday and he’s amazing. His eyes are twinkling and he never forgets a line he makes everything look so easy. He’s just the elixir of youth!'”
“I said to him, ‘Look, I’m nervous, I’m sorry, but I’m in the Barlows’ house doing a big scene with you’. He said, ‘Don’t be silly’. He listened and made me feel so at ease.”
Meanwhile, Claire also spoke about how she had ticked a lot of boxes” before becoming a mother. The 53-year-old actress started her career in the 1990s when she was cast as Lindsey Corkhill in the now-defunct soap opera Brookside and later carved out a successful theatre career by starring in West End musicals like ‘Chicago’ but admitted that when Jaxon – whom she has with her ex-partner Daniel Reilly – arrived in late 2014, he “filled a void” she didn’t even know was there.
She told the magazine: “I’d done a lot and had a fantastic career, and by the time he came along, there were a lot of boxes ticked. He filled a void that I didn’t know I had; he’s just completed my life. Everything I do is for him. The first person I think of in the morning when I wake up is him. The last person I think of at night is him. He brings me so much joy and laughter and love, I just adore him.”
