A History Of Liverpool Thespians - Claire Sweeney

Claire Jane Sweeney was born on the 17th of April 1971 in Walton, Liverpool, the daughter of a butcher who had a shop in Toxteth. Coming from a small family, she was brought up in Liverpool by her mother, Kathleen and father Ken, along with her brother, Shaun. Finding school work a little difficult, particularly Maths, she did well in singing and acting though and trained at the Elliott-Clarke Theatre School in Liverpool, whilst working weekends at her dad’s shop. Her first singing gig was at the age of 14 in the Montrose Club in Liverpool, for which she was paid £25. In 1987, she was a member of the Southport Summer Youth Theatre Workshop's production of the musical 'Hair' and then won a place to be educated full-time at the Italia Conti Academy Theatre Arts in London when she was 18. The show that got her into theatre was 'Blood Brothers', Claire says, "I must have been 10 years of age when I first saw it and it moved me so much. I saw it and I thought, that’s what I want to do. From the time I was a teenager I dreamed of playing the part of Rita, in 'Educating Rita', so much so that it was my audition piece for drama school when I was 17." After graduating, she was determined to be a singer and was booked up for a succession of summer seasons and pantos, before landing a brief appearance in 'Brookside' as Lindsey Corkhill in 1991 after passing an audition. It was only a brief appearance (two episodes) and Claire decided she wanted to see the world so she performed as a singer and went onto cruise ships when she was 22. After her stint at sea, she felt it was time to come home so decided to write the producer of 'Brookside' to see if there was a place for her on the show. It just so happened that the day the producer got her letter was the day the production staff were meeting to discuss long term storylines and decided it was time to bring back Lindsey Corkhill and so Claire returned to be a leading character at 'Brookside' (1995-2003).

Claire as Lindsey Corkhill and Paul Usher as Barry Grant.

Her Celebrity Big Brother appearance in 2001 catapulted her to greater fame, leading to the West End role of Roxie Hart in 'Chicago' and becoming the face of Marks and Spencer. Claire said. "The first thing I did after 'Brookside' was 'Clocking Off' (2003), which was an award-winning drama. It was great for me, but to be honest I wasn’t looking for a serious drama or Shakespeare, I really wanted to do a big musical." In 2003 she starred in the world tour of the musical revue 'Fosse' and featured on the album 'Give Me a Smile' by Carl Davis and the BBC Concert Orchestra. Around the same time she became a regular on 'Loose Women', was a contestant on the first series of 'Strictly Come Dancing' in 2004, presented a number of TV shows, including '60 Minute Makeover', and released an album 'Claire'. She also became the Forces Sweetheart, and was the first entertainer for the troops in Afghanistan. Her TV work also saw her appear in 'Merseybeat' (2004), 'Candy Cabs' (2011) and 'Lemon La Vida Loca' (2012).
Her stage work also continued, starring in 'Tell Me On A Sunday', 'Legally Blonde: The Musical', 'Educating Rita', and 'White Christmas'. In July 2006, She took on the role of Miss Adelaide in the British production of 'Guys and Dolls' at the Piccadilly Theatre in London's West End for an eight-week run, before touring the UK alongside Patrick Swayze in the same production. After being in a relationship with Daniel Riley from 2011 to 2015 she gave birth to Jaxon in September, 2014, at the age of 43 following two heartbreaking miscarriages. She returned to work 3 months after giving birth to her son to perform in the pantomime 'Aladdin' at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham. In May and June 2014 she appeared in the comedy musical 'Sex and the Suburbs', co-written by her and Mandy Muden, at the Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool and was in 'Holby City' (2014). Then in 2015 and 2016 Claire played Velma Von-Tussle in the UK tour of 'Hairspray'.

as Cassandra (Cassie) Plummer

More TV appearances included an appearance in 'Benidorm' (2018) as gobby flight attendant Maxine, 'Doctors' (2019) and 'Scarborough' (2019). Following her role as Beverley Carnell in 'The Good Ship Murder' (2023) it was revealed in April 2023, that she would be joining the cast of 'Coronation Street' as Cassandra Plummer, the daughter of Evelyn Plummer and the biological mother of Tyrone Dobbs. In an interview with OK! Magazine, Claire said she felt "nervous" about acting alongside 'Coronation Street' veteran William Roache. She said: "I was very ensconced in the Dobbs' house with Maureen Lipman and Alan Halsall and then suddenly I heard whispers that I had a storyline with Bill (Roach). My first day of filming, I just said to him, 'Look, I’m nervous,' and he was so kind and warm. I feel so honoured – I’ve only been here a year and I’m so lucky to have this storyline."

see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2024/12/a-history-of-liverpool-thespians_30.html