Real life of Coronation Street's Cassie Plummer actress Claire Sweeney - new romance, tragic loss, 'decimated' income and son

Coronation Street's own Cassie Plummer is currently making moves within some of the biggest families on the cobbles having recently struck up a new bond with street stalwart Ken Barlow. The character recently became Ken's carer, after he fell down the stairs and fractured his pelvis.

The incident left family members Steve McDonald, Amy Barlow and Daniel Osbourne having to discuss care package options for the Barlow patriarch and wondering how on earth they were going to fund it. Unbeknownst to them, Cassie was listening with interest and offered to be Ken’s carer for a quarter the price of a professional.

Daniel and Amy were quick to snap her up while Steve reluctantly agreed, leaving Cassie thrilled. What she didn't know is that the family agreed to not let Ken know that Cassie isn't qualified, only for her to tell him herself that she wasn't trained to look after him.

READ MORE: Coronation Street's Sally Dynevor stuns fans as they say she and daughter 'look like sisters'

READ MORE: Read more of our Coronation Street stories here

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. Now, in upcoming scenes, Cassie will be swapping Ken for Steve with the pair going on a bit of a revenge mission.

It starts with Steve's birthday party- and it is not exactly what he was expecting. He is gutted to discover Tim and Sally Metcalfe are at the unveiling of Tommy Orpington's bust instead. Cassie offers to drive him to the event to confront them. Once there, they discover a way to get revenge on Tommy once and for all, but what have they got planned?

Claire Sweeney made her debut on the cobbles as Cassie back in June 2023. Her casting was revealed in April and a couple of months later she was making her debut as Tyrone Dobbs' real mum and the daughter of Evelyn Plummer. Cassie tracked down her mum to the street but, when Evelyn spotted her, she ignored her. But later, Evelyn received a call and was seen hurrying into A&E reception, explaining that her daughter had been admitted as an emergency after she overdosed.

The pair then entered into an emotional confrontation as Cassie revealed she knew that she was living with Tyrone and had been keeping him from her for all these years. And things reached a heartbreaking climax when Evelyn emotionally confessed that Tyrone thinks his mum is dead.

Cassie later revealed her identity to Tyrone and has since made herself part of his and his children's lives - and has even found herself on better terms with her mum, played by acting legend Dame Maureen Lipman.

As for Claire's life before Corrie, she was born in Walton, Liverpool, and trained at the Elliott-Clarke Theatre School in the city and worked at weekends in her father's butchers shop. Her first singing gig was at the age of 14 in the Montrose Club in Liverpool, for which she was paid £25. She was then educated full-time at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London.

She landed her first major role in Brookside, initially as a recurring character from 1991 and then as a leading character from 1995 until the programme ended in 2003. From then on, her career went from strength to strength with a few more TV appearances under her belt, both as an actress and as a presenter, while also carving out a successful theatre career, starring in the likes of Guys and Dolls, Legally Blonde, Educating Rita and numerous pantomimes.

And, whilst Claire at one point had a glittering career on stage after her time on TV, it's not always been such heady heights of stardom, according to the Mirror. The star has also had to adapt to big changes.

With lockdown blocking her from her usual performing slots on stage and on screen, Claire saw her income change dramatically and was left living on the proceeds from the sale of her Mallorca villa in 2019. In an interview with The Sunday Times, she revealed exactly how much she earned in 2021. She said: "Under £5,000. Our industry was decimated. Thankfully I'd sold a house in Spain, in 2019, so I was blessed that I could sit it out comfortably.

"It was a big house in Mallorca that I'd bought in 2004 for €690,000 (£580,000). It broke my heart to sell but it was on its own grounds, and my little boy didn't want that - he wanted to be with other kids."

Away from her career, 53-year-old Claire is a doting single mum to her son, Jaxon. The eight-year-old has largely been kept out of the limelight by his mum but recently appeared in a photoshoot with her for OK! Magazine. "He just makes me laugh so much," Claire told the publication. "He gives me so much affection and love. He’s such a sensitive kid."

Claire split from Jaxon’s dad Daniel Reilly in 2015. The pair had become engaged on Christmas Eve in 2012, with Daniel, who is 14 years Claire's junior, presenting the soap star with a three-carat diamond ring in a romantic proposal. But they sadly split just nine months after the birth of their first child.

But Claire has now hit the headlines with news of her new romance. The soap star and boxer Ricky Hatton, who met when taking part in Dancing on Ice 2024, were spotted on a series of pub dates throughout spring, before they stepped out on the red carpet together for the first time in May, as they enjoyed the first opening night of Manchester's new £365m Co-op Live Arena.

Then, a couple of months after the new couple enjoyed a sun-soaked holiday in Tenerife, the pair headed back abroad to Mallorca.

Meanwhile, Claire recently suffered the tragic loss of her former co-star and friend. Dean Sullivan, known to many for playing drug dealer Jimmy Corkhill in the now-defunct Channel 4 soap, died in November following a short illness. The sad news of his death, aged 68, came after he confirmed he was living with prostate cancer in May - five years after his original diagnosis - but his cause of death has not yet been confirmed.

Sullivan's death, on November 29, was confirmed in a statement from Hamilton Management and his family. They said: "It is with deep sadness we must tell you that actor Dean Sullivan passed away on 29th November 2023 peacefully following a short illness. Dean is best remembered as the longest-serving cast member of Channel 4’s groundbreaking ‘Brookside’ playing the role of ‘Jimmy Corkhill’, making Dean a British Soap icon.

"To millions he was and very much still is remembered as 'Jimmy', to family and friends he was 'Dino'. Dean's family wants to thank Arrowe Park Hospital for their unwavering and consistent support. We ask that you respect their privacy in their time of grief."

The tragic news of his passing came after he was seen on screens in June during a Brookside reunion at the British Soap Awards. Sullivan joined Claire and Sue Jenkins, who played Corkhill family members Lindsey and Jackie in the now-defunct scouse soap, on stage at The Lowry in Salford to present the award for 'Best Family'.

Taking to Instagram, Claire reacted to the news of Sullivan's passing. She shared pictures of them together at the Soap Awards and of them back in the nineties when they starred in Brookside. "I will miss you Dean, Love you," Claire started the caption of her post. She then added: "It was wonderful to be reunited together as a family this year for the Soap Awards. RIP Dean Sullivan."