Coronation Street star Claire Sweeney teases shock axing after Ken Barlow poisoning twist
CLAIRE Sweeney has spoken out to tease her exit from Coronation Street, as her on-screen character gets up to no good.
Claire, who has played Cassie Plumber in the ITV soap since last year, has now revealed her dark new storyline and why if she does leave the soap she won’t be sad to go.
Speaking in a Q&A after the scenes of her poisoning poor Ken have aired on Coronation Street, Claire explained that it might not be as malicious as it seems.
She said: “She feels terrible. There’s absolute remorse – she never wanted to hurt him and she thinks she’s gone too far.
“She’s not trying to harm him; she just wants him to need her. I think she regrets giving him blood thinners. There is an element of guilt – she does question herself.”
The filming and storyline also impacted co-star Bill Roache, who has played Ken Barlow since its first episode in 1960.
She explained: “We were both a bit shocked and it sounds awful that I’m poisoning him, but she just wants him to need her.
“She wants to keep her job and she loves being with him.
“Bill is like myself, he’s very keen to play the affection between the two characters so it’s not just black and white – there is a grey area.”
The tense storyline could well be the end for Cassie and lead to her exit from the cobbles, as Claire explained that when she received the storyline she did think she was being cut from the soap
She added: “It does cross your mind. When I got this job, if you’d have told me that a year and a half later, I’d be here having a big storyline with Bill Roache, I’d have been so grateful for that.
“In my time in Corrie, I’ve had big scenes with Maureen Lipman, a big storyline with Bill Roache, I’ve got to snog Steve McDonald and have a cat fight with Tracy.”
Yet if it is the end of her time on Coronation Street, Claire revealed she would have no regrets as she shared: “What more could I want?
“So, if this does signal the end, I’d go – well hasn’t that been great, I’ve been blessed.”