“Sarah has found her confidence – and I love it!”
TINA O’BRIEN Sarah Platt
She was the anchor of the Street’s first teen pregnancy storyline – when she joined the cobbles to play Sarah in 1999 – and Tina O’brien has since grown up on
Corrie. However, the days of gymslip mum ‘Sarah-lou’ are long gone, with Gail’s daughter now oozing confidence and sass after binning off Gary, taking control of Underworld – and hooking up with Adam! Tina has much to feel proud of, including a nomination for Best Actress…
So, Tina… you’re officially the envy of millions now that Sarah is dating Adam Barlow!
She’s done all right, hasn’t she? Actually, I was genuinely upset at first – not because I would be working with Sam [Robertson, who plays Adam], but because me and Mikey [North, aka Gary] had worked together for three-and-a-half years – and it really did feel like the end of a relationship! But within seconds of working with Sam, I was like, “Oh, this will be fine – see ya, Mikey!”
Brutal! How did Mikey feel about that rejection?
Ha ha! Well, I went into the green room wearing one of Sarah’s new little outfits while Mikey was filming Gary going nuts in the woods [killing loan shark Rick Neelan]. He said, “You look very nice – why are you all dressed up like that?” I told him, “I’m off on a date with Adam!”
Then Mikey said, “They didn’t dress you like that when you were going out with Gary!”
You and Sam had some steamy scenes to navigate very quickly into Sarah and Adam’s relationship. Was it nerve-wracking to film?
I’ll be honest, the first hour was a bit awkward as they were literally our first scenes. It was kind of like, “Hi Sam, we’ve never really talked before but erm… Action!” – with lots of kissing in front of a crew of about 30! But within an hour, it was fine to the point that I joked with Sam that kissing him was easier than talking to him, as I didn’t have to learn any lines! He is a really lovely guy.
Congratulations on your reallife wedding [to Adam Crofts] last year! Did you have a lovely honeymoon in Italy?
Aw, thank you – it was amazing! We booked a private helicopter to take us from the airport to Positano. We flew over the Amalfi Coast before landing in this farmer’s field, and were greeted with limoncello. I’ll probably never do it again, but as it was our honeymoon we thought, ‘Let’s go for it’!
Would you like Sarah and Adam to get married in
Corrie?
It would be amazing, because I’d love to bring the Barlows and Platts together. They’re the two big families on the Street – a bit like the Capulets and the Montagues in
But in regards to filming a wedding, it’s not as fun as it looks when you’re stood there in a dress that you’ve been wearing for three weeks solid. If Adam and Sarah want to marry,
they ought to elope! Romeo And Juliet!
Speaking of the Platts, that was an eventful family holiday you all took together!
Oh, I know! The best bit was that myself, Jack P Shepherd [David], Ben Price [Nick], Julia Goulding [Shona] and Lucy Fallon [Bethany] booked ourselves into those lodges for real and stayed there. We had our own hot tub!
Is it hard to keep a straight face when filming Platt family scenes?
It’s usually Helen [Worth, who plays Gail] who can’t, which is hilarious, because you think of her as the mother of the family. She’ll just start cracking up, and not be able to get through a scene without laughing.
What have you enjoyed most about playing the new sassy side of Sarah?
I really love that she’s found her confidence and some self-belief that she is capable of doing things. Sarah has always been
Gail’s daughter, and very much the youngster of the family who had a child while young – and
I think that weighed heavily on her shoulders. But since taking charge of Underworld, Sarah’s been able to show that she can manage if she needs to.
You’re up against Alison King (Carla) and Katie Mcglynn (Sinead) in the Best Actress category. Are you confident?
Oh, I wouldn’t vote for me! I’m in love with Ali, and if she’d let me marry her, I would. I think she walks into a room and men just go [makes a jaw-dropping face]. She has such wonderful charisma on screen, too. And Katie has been so incredible with Sinead’s cancer story that I’m at the point where I’m struggling to watch her on screen, because she is so believable. It has been so heartbreaking! I think they are both amazing actresses and, when I’m drunk, I tell them both often!