Coronation Street star Tina O’Brien has admitted her alter ego Sarah Barlow is a “nightmare” in the aftermath of Monday’s dramatic gender reveal party.
And frankly, we’re not surprised! Because the one thing Sarah has been doing since this whole Adam/Damon business got started is making some VERY bad decisions!
Now her latest questionable choice – to let her Uncle Stephen get involved in her lies – has well and truly come back to bite her and the truth is out!
But as Adam ends his marriage and Sarah’s life is left in tatters – are they over for good? Tina O’Brien isn’t so sure…
Tina O’Brien on the big reveal
Adam knows he’s not the father of the baby, despite Sarah (and Stephen’s!) attempts to keep the truth from him. And after the dramatic reveal at the party where the balloon read ‘It’s Damon’s’ rather than whether the baby was a boy or a girl, everyone else knows too!
So did Sarah really think she was going to get away with such a huge lie?
“I’m not sure she did think she was going to get away with,” Tina O’Brien, who plays Sarah, tells us. “She hoped she’d get away with it! But it got out of hand. There were a couple of times she was ready and willing to tell Adam the truth and then because of Stephen’s interference it became harder to open up.”
And she says that Sarah’s actions are baffling!
“I think because she desperately wanted the baby and she didn’t want to have a termination she thought she could deal with the guilt,” she says thoughtfully. “Personally it’s not something I could deal with for my whole life. Something like that must eat away at you. Obviously something like that is never going to go well.”
Total humiliation
Viewers will have seen the horror on Sarah’s face in Monday’s episode when she realised the truth was out in such a public and humiliating fashion.
So how is she feeling now?
“Ashamed, devastated, embarrassed, hurt, scared, upset,” Tina lists. “Feeling sick to her stomach!”
Sarah’s no stranger to keeping huge secrets, but the way this one was revealed seems to have totally taken her by surprise.
“She had absolutely no idea whatsoever,” Tina laughs. “It was interesting to film actually – a day of mixed emotions. Sarah knows about the gender reveal but she has to pretend she doesn’t know, so she was shocked and surprised. There was a lot going on, my head was frazzled that day!”
The end of the road?
Does this latest chapter in the Barlow romance mean their marriage is over for good? Tina says Sarah is still clinging on for dear life!
“She knows her marriage is over, but she’s still hoping she can talk him round,” she tells us. “But I think really this could be the final nail in the coffin. Mind you, even though what Adam did was out of character, cruel and painful, there is a bit of me that thinks well, she behaved appallingly too. Yes he behaved inappropriately but so did Sarah. In a weird way it kind of levels up the bad behaviour! It’s not affected her love for him. She wants to be with him.”
And how about Damon? Is Sarah still holding any feelings for the bad boy of Weatherfield?
“She might be pining after the excitement, but I think after everything she’s gone through, probably realises the pain and fallout wasn’t worth it,” Tina says. “She just wants her life back on track.”
More drama to come!
You would think that after all the drama, Sarah would be apologetic and try to smooth things over.
But no. As this week’s episodes continue, she’s just making everything worse!
“She’s a nightmare!” laughs Tina. “She’s very quick to be defensive. I kind of get it but maybe there’s a time and place. I was reading the scripts thinking ‘Rein it in, lady!’ It’s too soon for her to start being defensive. Of course Adam’s not going to take on board what she’s got to say.”
Tina O’Brien reveals heartbreak for Sarah?
And then things take a frightening turn when Sarah is suddenly struck with crippling pains and rushes off to hospital, terrified she’s going to lose the baby.
“She’s really scared,” admits Tina. Everything that’s gone on, with Stephen, and the letter and the fraud, the one thing she was solid about was regardless if it was Damon’s or Adam’s she already loved this little person, and she desperately wanted to have that baby.”
If Sarah loses the baby, how will she cope? Could she get through it alone?
“She can’t ask Adam for help now,” says Tina. “She’s got to be on her own with this. She is quite strong. Tougher than she gives herself credit for. She’s lost a baby, Billy. She’s willing to tough it out on her own.”
But if the worst happens, could she consider herself at fault?
“I think she would blame herself,” Tina says. “Maybe she’s created so much stress it became an unviable pregnancy. She would feel responsible, even though there’s a lot of emotions attached to miscarriage but it happens for many reasons.”
Sarah and Adam over for good?
So is there any hope for Adam and Sarah?
“I think they probably still love each other,” Tina tells us. “I’d like to think Sarah and Adam are each other’s person, but maybe too much has gone on and they need to start afresh.”
And would she like them to make it work?
“I’d like them to want to be together but not be together,” she says. “I’d like Sarah or Adam meeting someone new and it going wrong and them almost getting back together… I genuinely have no idea how this story ends!”
Read more: Complete Coronation Street cast list 2023 – meet them all here!
Coronation Street usually airs on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8pm on ITV.
Can Adam and Sarah fix their marriage? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think!
For all the latest soap spoilers, news and chat come and join us at Soap Daily now!