Coronation Street star Tina OâBrien has revealed the unexpected connection she has to Adolescence teen actor Owen Cooper.
Tina, who currently portrays Sarah Platt in the ITV soap opera, co-founded her drama school, The Drama MOB, in 2013 after ânoticing a gap in the market for high quality drama classes in Manchesterâ.
Owen, on the other hand, was recently introduced to millions after playing schoolboy Jamie Miller in Adolescence. He is currently filming for the upcoming 2026 adaptation of Wuthering Heights, where he will portray young Heathcliff.
Tina OâBrien reveals connection to Adolescence star Owen Cooper
Starring in the hit series alongside the likes of Stephen Graham and Erin Doherty, reports suggested that Owen had no acting experience.
However, it seems Tina has exposed the young rising star and revealed that he once attended her drama school before finding fame.
The 41-year-old soap actress reposted an Instagram post from actor Rico Morris, who praised Drama MOB for helping develop Owenâs talent, to her Story. In the caption, Tina wrote: âElitist mentality that anything in the North isnât worth mentioning.â
She added: âThank you for highlighting this Rico. We work incredibly hard at the Drama MOB and we are very proud of the work we do and will continue to do.â
âWe did not want a lad who went to drama schoolâ
Tinaâs revelation arrived soon after Stephen, who is also the creator and writer of the series, opened up about casting Owen.
âWe did not want a lad who had been through theatre school or drama school,â he said.
âOwen is a normal kid from a council estate, heâs working with Margot Robbie now, heâs playing Heathcliffe, heâs smashing it.â
While talking to The Independent, Stephen insisted he wanted to find someone âwho didnât have a lot of experienceâ.
He said he was aware that Owen had âdone a couple of little theatre workshopsâ. Stephen added: âHe was just starting to do little bits in school.â
Tina OâBrien first rose to fame in 1999 as a child star when she secured the iconic role of Sarah Platt in Coronation Street.
She remained on the ITV soap opera until 2008 before returning to the cobbles in 2015.
While the show helped launch the 41-year-old actor into a household name, Tina has also starred in countless other showsâŚ
Tina OâBrien before Corrie
Tinaâs first-ever acting role took place two years before debuting as Sarah in Corrie.
In 1997, she had a regular part as Claire in the ITV childrenâs drama Childrenâs Ward. A year later, she starred as an underage girl in the drama series The Cops.
âYou donât realise how good something is until itâs goneâ
Before initially waving goodbye to Corrie in 2008, Tina admitted she was âsadâ to leave.
âI think this job will be one of those things where you donât realise how good something is until itâs gone,â she told Lancashire Telegraph.
âIâm kind of glad the end is coming up because itâs been coming a while. Now I feel prepared for it. When I first decided to go I kept thinking, âHave I made a mistake?â I already know Iâm going to cry loads on my last day, though.â
Tinaâs career after Corrie
When she left Corrie, Tina remained a prominent face on television.
In 2010, she participated on Strictly and was voted off during the fifth episode. That same year, she debuted the role of Bex Fisher in BBC Oneâs Waterlood Road and later starred in Casualty.
Tina continued to appear in BBC dramas with one-off appearances in Call The Midwife and Doctors.
In 2012, she co-founded her own drama school, The Drama MOB, in Manchester.
Corrie comeback
After some time away, Tina returned to Corrie in 2015 and has remained on the soap ever since.
Despite Sarahâs bad luck with men, she revealed during a 2024 interview with 5 Things To Do Today that it makes her job âa lot more interestingâ.
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