Coronation Street's Claire Sweeney feared 'best days' were over before job offer
Coronation Street star Claire Sweeney thought "the best days of her career" had been and gone before her recent success. The 53-year-old star - who made her name on Brookside in the 1990s and has appeared on Celebrity Big Brother and Strictly Come Dancing - reflected on the impact joining Coronation Street in 2023 made on her career.
She told Best magazine: "Over the years, when I've been stopped on the red carpet and people have asked me: 'What's your dream job?', it's always been 'Corrie'. But it always just seemed so out of reach for me. Two years ago, I really thought I'd had the best days of my career.
"Then 'Corrie' and 'Dancing On Ice' both happened - and then suddenly I'm in a different place!" Along with her career revival - including a role in the first series of Channel 5 drama The Good Ship Murder - Claire is focused on finding the right balance as she raises her 10-year-old son Jaxon.
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She said: "I do get a bit of help - I have to because I'm working. My job isn't an ego trip, I've got to pay the bills, I'm just very blessed that I love what I do. Jaxon knows mummy is away working, but then when we get together, the times we have are fantastic."
Claire said she and her son have a genuine bond, and he's made her "beautiful house" feel like a "real home". She explained: "He's my life. I remember pre-Jaxon, when I was touring in musicals, I'd drive back to London after the show and get into my house at one in the morning.
"It was a beautiful house, but it was empty and cold. Now I come in and there are his little shoes there, his things are everywhere and he often wakes up when I get in. It's a real home now."