Claire Sweeney landed Coronation Street role by filming herself in bed

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    Coronation Street newcomer Claire Sweeney was forced to film herself in bed in order to land a role on the ITV soap.

    Next week the former soap star made her debut on the famous cobbles as Tyrone Dobbs’ mother Cassie Plummer.

    It was revealed back in April that Clair would be taking on the role of the much-moved mechanic’s (Alan Halsall) biological mother despite previously believing it to be Jackie Dobbs (Margi Clarke).

    READ MORE: Corrie's Samia Longchambon hailed 'gorgeous' by co-star as fans swoon over 'great legs'

    But in coming scenes, the TV favourite will come face-to-face with his long-lost mother after his grandmother Evelyn Plummer (Maureen Lipman) convinced him she was dead.

    Now, the former Brookside star, 52, has revealed the bizarre way she landed the role in an interview with Daily Star and other press.

    The blonde bombshell admitted: “My agent got an email asking me to do a self-tape and it came at like six o’clock in the evening and they needed it the next day.

    “It was one of those times when I'd been really busy working and it was the only night off I had so thankfully I was at home.

    “I phoned my mate who is and actor and I said, ‘Can you come over? I’ve got this self-tape to do,’ and it was a big, big scene.

    She went on: “I learnt it and did it in my bed which wasn’t appropriate really because I've got a big, flashy, silver bed.

    “It was supposed to be a hospital bed but I was lying there in my other-the-top silver bed.

    “So I did these scenes, managed to learn it really quick, my friend came over, we filmed it and we had it on the casting desk by nine o’clock the next morning.”

    The mum-of- one explained that learning the dramatic scene in bed helped her to kick the nerves when sharing the screen with Dame Maureen Lipman on her first day.

    Claire went on: “The funny thing is, having done the audition from the safety of my bedroom, reading with my mate, I felt really safe.

    “I wasn’t nervous or anything but then to suddenly turn up at Coronation Street and walk in and see the Cobbles, my stomach flipped.”

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    But when it came to the big day, the actress couldn’t help but be overwhelmed when she walked onto the set having grown up with the soap as a child.

    Claire gushed: “I thought, ‘Oh my God, it’s Coronation Street, It’s real!’ You go in the building and the first thing you see is a massive picture of Ena Sharples and it suddenly hit me, the reality of it.

    “I’m a massive Corrie fan, I've grown up with Corrie. It’s been a part of our household since I was a kid and to suddenly be there and see it really struck home.”

    Coronation Street airs on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX.

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