Sarah’s in for a busy start to the year (Picture: ITV)

There’s a massive new year in store for Sarah Platt (Tina O’Brien) in Coronation Street as two hugely important people step back into her life. One is her daughter, Bethany (Lucy Fallon) and the other is Damon Hay (Ciaran Griffiths), Sarah’s former lover and the man responsible for breaking up her and Adam (Sam Robertson)’s marriage.

Tina O’Brien told us that both of these characters bring the drama in different ways and she’s really enjoyed having screen daughter Lucy back.

‘Sarah knows Bethany well enough, she knows that there’s probably going to be drama following very closely behind her,’ she said. ‘For me personally, working with Lucy has been obviously just such a joy. And it’s just really interesting, because the first things we did together, we just felt so normal and we instantly got into the really sort of fast paced way we chat to each other.’

Tina sees a lot of potential in Lucy’s return. ’I think there’s so many stories that could be explored with Bethany and you know, even her time away. She’s grown, she’s taken on a new job.

‘She’s coming back into the Daniel (Rob Mallard) situation with probably a bit more of a neutral head on her shoulders as well. And she might not be willing to accept some of the things that she used to.’

There are more mixed feelings for Sarah towards Damon, she revealed.

‘There’s probably some unfinished business there. The way he left, her feelings towards him, which she probably doesn’t quite understand.

‘So there’s probably going to be a big mix of emotions, especially because Adam seems to be thawing. Over New Year, he seems to be showing that maybe he has still got feelings for her – so I think she’s probably in a very confused place.’

Sarah and Adam get a huge shock when they’re faced with Damon Hay once more (Picture: ITV)

Sarah’s daughter Bethany heads home to the cobbles (Picture: ITV)

Tina couldn’t be happier about the prospect of such a busy time ahead as she looks forward to working more with some of her favourite people.

‘To be honest, I feel I’ve won the lottery when it comes to my job, I really do,’ she enthused.

‘I absolutely love working with the people that I love. Ciaran being back as well – I’ve just not stopped laughing. He’s probably more mischievous in real life than his character, which is saying something in a really nice way. He’s just brings a lot of good energy to set and he just makes it really good fun to work on. Sam’s always a dream. You know, he takes it really seriously and knows what he’s doing. And I think because we’ve worked together for so long, we’ve got a really good understanding, like a good shorthand. And then Lucy. Love her, so yeah, it’s amazing.’

Tina loves scenes with the rest of the Platt family, she revealed, as she told us that even in the middle of the most serious storyline they have a lot of fun.

‘They’re my favourite scenes in the world to play,’ Tina said. ‘If I realise I’ve got a couple of Platt scenes, there’s just a dynamic between the group of us that I just think it’s so beautiful to be a part of.

‘You’ve got such different characters, you know. You’ve got David (Jack P. Shepherd)’s sarcasm and his little put-downs. And Sarah’s always trying to be the best, the best child of the family. The rest of the family rolling their eyes at her – It’s a great thing to do. I think it works. And I think, as a bunch of humans when we’re not filming, we get on really well. So it’s quite nice.’

More: Trending

Even during the filming of the climax to the Stephen Reid (Todd Boyce) storyline as the terrible truth dawned that Sarah’s uncle was a multiple murderer, as actors they all enjoyed themselves.

‘Those scenes were great when we were doing Stephen storyline,’ Tina recalled. ‘Obviously, it was so serious and so awful, but seeing the Platts together and all those little funny moments was just the best.’

MORE : Coronation Street Christmas spoilers: Adam ‘killed’ in murder horror as Damon exacts brutal revenge

MORE : Robert Beck shares touching anniversary post as he and Corrie’s Jane Danson celebrate 18 years of marriage

With two returns on the cards, it’s going to be a busy start to the year for Sarah Platt.