Coronation Street newcomer Sydney Martin's 'weird' real age admission and surprise co-star connection

Coronation Street's Sydney Martin is relieved the secret is finally out.

The soap star is the newest addition to the cast of the long-running soap and her character has been immediately thrown into the drama as she is blackmailing the villainous Joel Deering. Sydney's character was named in the credits as "Sabrina's friend" with the vague identity leaving fans suspicious there would be another twist to come.

This was confirmed on Friday's episode when it was revealed Sydney is playing none other than Betsy Swain, the daughter of Weatherfield Police detective, Lisa Swain. Sydney took to Instagram after the bombshell ending to officially announce her character.

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She said: "The hardest secret to keep - Betsy Swain has officially landed on the Cobbles. I couldn’t be more grateful to join the Coronation Street family and to play the daughter of DS Swain. Thank you to everyone for welcoming me with open arms, I can’t wait for everyone to get to know her!"

The role is Sydney's first TV gig and the rising star told the ECHO and other press she is "over the moon" after landing the dream job. Although she is playing a 16-year-old in the show, Sydney is actually aged 22 and the soap star explained she is grateful to be older than her character.

She said: "To come in on the Lauren [Bolton] storyline, which is such an important, massive storyline and to be a little bit older and understand the serious topics it's dealing with more has been nice."

She added: "It is weird though, don't get me wrong, because [Betsy] is six years younger than I am. She joked: "I mean, I layer on the moisturiser."

Sydney explained she never envisioned she could be an actor and initially wanted to be a zookeeper when was younger. However, she was bitten by the acting bug in Sixth Form and decided to pursue her showbiz dreams by attending drama school in Manchester.

The soap star had auditioned for two smaller roles in Corrie earlier this year and was blown away when she landed the part of Betsy. She said: "In this industry, it can be so hard because you deal with so much rejection but, just to get a recall and meet [DS Swain star] Vicky [Myers], I just took it as a good experience.

"I didn't take it as I was gonna get it. When you're starting off in this career, any bit of hope is lovely. It's all about meeting people and networking, that's what makes it such a beautiful industry."

Sydney was watching Pitch Perfect 3 with her flatmates when she got the call from her agent to say she had been given the part. She added: "It's one of those careers that you've got to keep fighting for and I was just over the moon.

"My flatmate picked me up and we both cried. We didn't finish Pitch Perfect." Sydney does not hail from a showbiz family and was working six days a week in Tesco to subsidise her acting career when she got the role.

The soap star laughed as she revealed she handed in her notice at the supermarket chain before telling her elated family the incredible news. She said: "My dad was like you shouldn't have handed your notice. He was like 'they're not going to give you a reference at Tesco now'."

Sydney is from Rossendale and she hailed the support of her mum and dad for how they backed her when she pursued her ambitious dream. She said: "They always say they don't know where I got my creative bones from because they're in completely different careers.

"I was the first one to go to University in my family. It can be worrying for parents for someone to say they want to go into acting because it is such an uncertain career. You really have to be a certain type of person to be resilient with it.

"This is the first TV thing I've ever done and I could not have asked for a better first opportunity. They're just my biggest fans and are over the moon. I had my first picture in a magazine and they've got about 10 of them and I think it's already framed."

Sydney also credited the support she has received from her co-stars who have welcomed her with "open arms". The actor was taken aback on the first day of shooting as she discovered she shared a connection with Joel Deering star, Calum Lill.

She said: "I actually found out on my first day of set that we went to the same high school. I went back recently and took some flowers and they're still over the moon.

"I left high school quite a long time ago and they've never forgotten me." She added: "I got into Sixth Form and had the most amazing drama teachers that I literally owe everything to."

Sydney teased her character is set to cause trouble on the Cobbles as she will exploit her close connection to Weatherfield's law enforcement. She added: "If she gets in trouble, it's like mum can get me out. There's a playfulness there. She's a little bit naïve and thinks the law doesn't apply to her."

Sydney and Vicky enjoy a special bond away from the screen as the soap star paid an emotional tribute to her onscreen mum for helping her settle in as she looks forward to the next chapter of her life as part of the Corrie cast.

She said: "In another universe, we were definitely mother and daughter. We're so similar.

"Vicky had got me flowers on my first day. She made me feel so appreciated. It's such a fast paced environment and everyone's supportive but Vicky really went out of her way just to make sure I was looked after and to have that motherly figure has been so lovely.

"I moved away from home at 18 and to come into a new industry and have someone be so supportive is really touching. Everyone has been so welcoming. Sometimes you need that [mum] energy, especially when it's like you're a small fish in a big pond.

"But I've been truly looked after so I feel really grateful."

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