I THOUGHT I WAS IN SOME KIND OF ACTION FILM...
Coronation Street’s Tina O’Brien tells Georgia Humphreys about life on set and sociallydistanced stunts
AFTER a few months off work thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, the cast of Coronation Street has returned to the cobbles.
And star Tina O’Brien admits she was “really nervous” about filming the ITV soap with social distancing measures in place.
The 36-year-old – who started playing Sarah Barlow (nee Platt) in 1999 – had concerns about how difficult it would be filming certain scenes two metres apart from her co-stars.
Take, for example, having to depict a charged moment between Sarah and her ex, Gary Windass, played by Mikey North.
“We are very tactile, we have to get up close to people; it’s just part of the job,” elaborates the Mancunian.
“The idea of doing it from a distance was a little bit bizarre for me. But it was fine, and Mikey is so great to work with that it was just normal.
“And actually, we had a really good time, because we got to film everything in order, so it allowed us to really get into a great flow of it.”
Tina and Mikey also recently starred in a socially-distanced stunt.
The storyline began with Sarah demanding answers from Gary about his involvement in the disappearance of loan shark Rick Neelan.
After Gary admitted the truth – that he killed Rick – Sarah was horrified and ran away to call the police, with Gary chasing after her.
When he saw a car hurtling down the street, he dived in front of the vehicle, while pushing his former flame to safety.
Because the actors can’t have contact, Tina was replaced by a mannequin – which she quips was “a lot taller and slimmer” than her – in certain shots.
“I even ended up with a little scrape down my arm where I threw myself on to the mat. I really thought I was in some kind of action film, I got carried away!” says Tina, who is married to businessman Adam Croft (they have son Beau together, and she also has daughter Scarlett from her relationship with former co-star Ryan Thomas). Currently, Sarah is dealing with the fact she has uncovered Gary’s web of lies, and whether she should reveal his secrets to the world.
“She feels very confused,” notes Tina, sitting in her garden whilst chatting over Zoom. “She was very clear on how she felt about everything; the one and only thing she said was, ‘Right, I’m going to speak to the police about this’.
“But because Gary saved her life and because of the things he said to her about his feelings towards her - I think she’s very confused about how to move forward and what to do for the best.”
Being reunited with her on-screen family – including Jack P Shepherd who plays her brother David – has been the best bit since returning to work after lockdown, Tina says.
“One of the directors said the other day, ‘Which is your favourite set? and me and Jack, without even hesitation, both said, ‘The Platts’ house’,” she recalls, smiling.
“To be able to do normal scenes when there’s a bit of banter again, it’s been comforting for us. So, I hope it will be comforting for the audience to see that dynamic again.”
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