Cassie will return after spending time in rehab (Pictures: ITV)
Cassie Plummer (Claire Sweeney)’s return to Coronation Street soon will find the character in a very different place from when we last saw her. Cassie – Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall)’s biological mother whom he believes died when he was a baby – has been staying in a flat at the precinct with her mum, Evelyn (Maureen Lipman), going cold turkey from the drugs she was addicted to that almost claimed her life after an overdose.
Now she’s determined to reconnect with her son and get to know her grandchildren, and Claire Sweeney told us she was loving playing such a complex character.
‘It is really great and satisfying to play such a character that has so many sides,’ she reflected. ‘She’s got the feistiness with her mother but she’s also got the vulnerability with her. Then she’s got the love with Tyrone, and then the newness and the wonderment of being a grandma. But then she also loves to party and there is a moment where she’s in the Rovers and she really lets her hair down and causes a bit of trouble.’
That description also sounds a little bit like another beloved Corrie character, Abi Franklin. Former addict Abi has been through huge upheavals herself, including the death of her son Seb (Harry Visinoni). This led to a chain of bad decisions for Abi as she slept with Imran (Charlie De Melo) and became pregnant. A vicious custody battle for her son Alfie ensued, before Abi finally found some stability and peace in her relationship with Kevin Webster (Michael Le Vell).
Claire Sweeney told us that her character and Abi have a lot in common.
Tyrone finally meets his mum (Picture: ITV)
‘I think Cassie and Abi will naturally gravitate towards each other. And I think it might take a bit of a twist and a turn in an unexpected way,’ she predicted.
The connection with Abi could come about as Cassie looks for work at the garage. ‘Cassie has some great scene with Kevin as she wants to work in the garage, Michael Le Vell has been great to work with,’ Claire told us.
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With both Cassie and Abi having a history of drug abuse, could they lead each other back down the wrong path, or could they be mutually supportive? Claire isn’t revealing how things will go, but she warned that it’s not going to be easy for her character to stay off drugs.
‘She is determined to do her best to try and stay clean but at the end of the day she’s an addict,’ she said. ‘Addicts fall off the wagon sometimes. And she would do everything she can within her power but it’s an illness. And she can’t always control it and it isn’t going to be easy for any of them.’
MORE : Coronation Street star returning to the soap three years after quitting
Can Abi help Cassie as she returns after rehab?